[boost] [stacktrace] Review

Subject: [boost] [stacktrace] Review
From: Peter Dimov (lists_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-03-21 20:00:30

I think that the Stacktrace library should be ACCEPTED.

The design is good.

It's unfortunate that to get a stacktrace class that stores the capture 
internally in a fixed-size array, as the first iteration did, one has to 
write a special allocator, more so because such an allocator isn't readily 
available (we don't have one in Boost, for instance). This could easily be 
addressed by templating basic_stacktrace on a container (default 
std::vector<frame>) instead, which would allow 
boost::container::static_vector to be used.

The implementation is good.

The main problem here, as already discussed in detail, is that under Windows 
clients of the library that don't make use of the facilities that require 
windows.h and COM headers to be included still suffer the penalty of this 
inclusion. Fixing this will be a significant increase in usability.

The documentation is adequate, although it could use some editing by a 
native speaker.

The library is potentially very useful. Assert handlers, exceptions and 
termination handlers can (and should) all make use of it. Wide use under 
Windows is however hampered by the limitation described above.

I tested the library under Windows with msvc-14.0, 14.1, Cygwin g++/clang++. 
Under Cygwin there is no libbacktrace, but defining 
BOOST_STACKTRACE_USE_ADDR2LINE worked.

I invested a fair chunk of time into my evaluation of the library, and am 
reasonably knowledgeable about the problem domain.