[boost] A possible date for dropping c++03 support

Subject: [boost] A possible date for dropping c++03 support
From: Mike Dev (mike.dev_at_[hidden])
Date: 2018-08-25 17:51:48

>From the discussion about abi compatibility when the Boost.System library is
compiled e.g. in c++03 mode and then included in ac++11 project or vice
versa
(https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/boost-developers-archive/EWG5NVOZo_
g)

> 
> When can we drop C++03 support? :D

This will probably be ignored or shouted down, but maybe someone just needs
to make a concrete suggestion about which people can discuss and vote so I'm
giving it a shot: 

What about the first or second release in 2020 ? 

By then, all major toolchains have had solid c++11 support for at least 5
years ( I think, msvc was the last one with VS2015) and at least partial
support for 7+ years (gcc 4.8, msvc 2013, clang 3.3). Also, most likely
c++20 will be released in that year, which means that c++03 compatible
libraries would have to support 5 different (and partial incompatible)
language versions by then (not to mention ABI-compatibility considerations
between different versions).

That should also be enough time to ensure that the last c++03 release (late
2019) is really solid (for projects that still can't upgrade to c++11) and
ideally there could be a few more bugfix-releases afterwards as is often
done by other software projects.

And before someone starts to raise straw mans: That of course wouldn't mean
that a particular library *must* no longer compile in 03 mode, but one can
no longer rely on the boost-internal dependencies remaining c++03
compatible. 

Best

Mike