Re: [boost] std::auto_ptr in public interfaces

Subject: Re: [boost] std::auto_ptr in public interfaces
From: Daniel James (dnljms_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-05-21 17:41:46

On 20 May 2017 at 17:29, Daniela Engert via Boost <boost_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>
> But you are proposing to keep the auto_ptr-based interface for that
> purpose, too. I don't see the benefit of two solutions for the same
> problems sitting side-by-side. Users who want to stick with
> std::auto_ptr just keep on using the current interface, and users who
> need to get rid of std::auto_ptr in all of their code have to find a
> solution for their entire code base how to deal with that. Insisting on
> yet another non-standard option to interface with Boost is not
> necessarily what these people have in mind, imho.

I don't think it's realistic to expect everyone to update their entire
code base at once. Especially if they're using code from multiple
sources. It should be as easy as possible to start using new versions,
any friction can result in people getting stuck on old versions which
makes life harder for everyone. If two dependencies both use the same
boost library, then it's unlikely they'll both update simultaneously,
so making it an either/or choice can cause real problems.