[boost] [BPM] Supporting an alternative to meta/libraries.json

Subject: [boost] [BPM] Supporting an alternative to meta/libraries.json
From: Louis Dionne (ldionne.2_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-01-04 13:46:47

Dear list,

Currently, all Boost libraries are required to have a meta/libraries.json file
at their root, which contains some meta-data describing the library. As I 
understand it, this meta-data is then used to generate the list of all 
libraries with their description when a release is done.

I find having such a directory at the root of every library annoying, since 
it clutters it. Furthermore, for metaprogramming libraries, the name can be 
slightly confusing since meta/ might be expected to contain something different.

I propose that we allow libraries to specify their metadata in a `.boost` file
located at their root. Using a dotfile is the most common way of providing 
information for an external service (for example .travis.yml), and dotfiles
are usually more discrete when viewing the project in an editor. Furthermore,
making `boost` part of the filename is more descriptive.

I have submitted a pull request to BPM [1] adding the ability to fetch the meta
data in a .boost file. The meta-data can still be provided in meta/libraries.json,
so this should not affect existing libraries.

Related questions that we might want to consider:

- Should it be .boost.json instead of .boost?

- Perhaps we could store the meta-data for all the libraries in the same 
  place, and get rid of the individual meta-data files?

- If this suggestion is accepted, is there more to modify than BPM?

Regards,
Louis

[1]: https://github.com/boostorg/bpm/pull/1