[boost] Docker environment(s) for Boost Development

Subject: [boost] Docker environment(s) for Boost Development
From: James E. King, III (jking_at_[hidden])
Date: 2018-05-08 11:59:21

I submitted a pull request into the superproject containing some docker
scripts.  The intention of this is to simplify managing a docker build
environment for boost:

https://github.com/boostorg/boost/pull/184

I'm wondering if folks will find this useful, and whether folks think this
should be in its own submodule instead of being in boostorg/boost.  I only
have an Ubuntu Bionic environment in this pull request but it wouldn't be
that difficult to add debian, centos, and others, as well as various
versions of each.

I have tested it on Unix and on Windows.  On Unix the performance is quite
good overall - but on Windows since they use SMB to do the sharing it is
really slow (I would say a good 20 times slower between typing "b2" and
getting the first output as it scans through all the files.  I would
recommend continuing to use a virtual machine on Windows Hosts for unix
boost development, but this option is there and hopefully they will improve
things.

This partially came out of the discussion we had a number of months back
about how we handle third party dependencies.  For the most part one has to
look at README files in various locations to learn about them.  This is an
attempt to pull all the dependencies together for a complete build into one
place (the Dockerfile).

One day when Microsoft supports Visual Studio compilation inside a
reasonably sized windows container (i.e. based on nanoserver and not
Windows Server Core), I'd like to add that as well since managing the
dependencies on Windows is a bit harder (you usually have to build them).

Thanks,

Jim