Re: [fixed_string] Gavin's review

From: Vinnie Falco (vinnie.falco_at_[hidden])
Date: 2019-12-04 11:35:37

On Tue, Dec 3, 2019 at 10:52 PM Gavin Lambert via Boost
<boost_at_[hidden]> wrote:
> This is my review of the proposed FixedString library.

Thanks for taking the time to write a thoughtful review!

> I don't entirely buy the "reduce dependencies" arguments)
> ...
> I'm also dubious about the division of implementation between three
> identically-named header files.  Unless this is required for
> avoiding-ugly-docs reasons I think it would be preferable to merge these
> into a single header -- and perhaps only a single header, where
> Boost.Config is used.

I've adopted a new philosophy for libraries that they can be used on
their own when it is not overly burdensome to do so. FixedString is a
perfect candidate for this, as is my Boost.JSON. And that they can be
configured either for linking (default) or for header-only (opt-in).
This is not applicable to FixedString but it is how I am designing my
other libraries. The goal is to eliminate any barriers to using these
libraries.

The division of header files is to reduce the amount of header
material exposed to the documentation tooling and also for aesthetics.
However having a single header also has merit, it even further reduces
barriers to using the library. I agree that we should crunch this down
to one file, it is a good marketing tool.

Regards