Re: [boost] [dynamic_bitset] Comparison operators without assertions

Subject: Re: [boost] [dynamic_bitset] Comparison operators without assertions
From: Gavin Lambert (gavinl_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-05-17 02:07:07

Mere moments ago, quoth I:
>   1. Render it as a bitstring first and then use string comparison. This
> seems needlessly perf-hungry (unless internal storage were already as a
> bitstring, but that seems needlessly storage-hungry).  This also biases
> the comparison to the non-[0] end, which might be good or bad depending
> on usage.

Variations include zero-padding whichever one is smaller, or not.

>   2. Compare each 32-bit (or whatever window size is convenient) group
> of bits as an unsigned integer (zero-padding if smaller than the window
> size), starting at whichever one holds [0] and continuing as long as
> both sets contributed at least one "real" bit to the window; if any
> comparison returns unequal, that's the result; if all comparisons return
> equal, then finally compare the actual sizes of both sets for the final
> result.  Advantage: fast.  Disadvantage: the ordering might change if
> the window size changes (eg. for different platforms, or future Boost
> versions).

Another variation is to start from the non-[0] end.  This would probably 
get you a more "natural" bitstring-like ordering and should be less 
dependent on the window size.  Might still result in different ordering 
on big-endian vs. little-endian platforms, though that depends on how 
internal storage is structured vs. indexing.

Comparing the actual sizes at the end if everything else is equal seems 
like an important step, though.  0000 > 00.