Re: [boost] CMake Announcement from Boost Steering Committee

Subject: Re: [boost] CMake Announcement from Boost Steering Committee
From: Jeff Trull (edaskel_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-07-22 00:12:57

I would like to thank the Steering Committee for making this decision.  I
realize it has been a contentious one.

On Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 6:12 AM, Jon Kalb via Boost <boost_at_[hidden]>
wrote:

<snip>

> The libraries produced by the Boost community have had a greater impact on
> the way that the C++ community writes code than any other library
> implementation. The focus of the Boost community will always be on the
> libraries, but it is undeniable that we are dependent on and often limited
> by the infrastructure of our trade. Years ago, the move to Git was
> contentious; yet, it was required to improve development. In a similar vein
> our build system has become an impediment for many developers and users,
> existing and prospective.
>
>
Jon has identified here my greatest concern with our use of bjam: that it
represents a barrier to adoption of Boost.  I'm often in the position of
 advocating for Boost, and I find it very difficult to explain to potential
users why it has its own, fairly obscure (though arguably superior) build
system instead of one of the ones commonly used in the industry.  Worse,
bjam compounds the reputation of Boost as accessible only to gurus.

It saddens me to see that this decision has alienated some of our valuable
contributors.  I hope they will come to see that moving to a more familiar
infrastructure will draw in new users and provide a needed jolt of momentum
to the use of our libraries.

In the meantime, I volunteer to help with the CMake conversion!

Best Regards,
Jeff