Re: Dropping C++03 support (again)

From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2023-02-06 00:18:00

On 2/5/23 4:05 PM, Glen Fernandes via Boost wrote:
> On Sun, Feb 5, 2023 at 6:47 PM Robert Ramey wrote:
> 
>> I maintain the Boost Serialization Library.  It's consistent with
>> (supports?) C++03. For the last 20 years, all I've done is bug fixes and
>> updates to be build system scripts.  No one has complained - and of
>> course why would they?
>>
>> P.S.  I can't help that the word "supports" is ill-chosen here.  I
>> honestly don't understand what it means in this context.
>>
> 
> 
> Robert, the only way the proposed announcement would affect you is the
> following:
> 
> Let's say you decide you want Boost.Serialization to continue to work in
> C++03 compilers.  Imagine the announcement is made that "Boost 1.82 is the
> last release where the release managers will care about tests failing in
> C++03 standards mode". Now Boost.Serialization depends on some other Boost
> libraries, for example, it uses boost::addressof() from Boost.Core. In
> Boost 1.83 let's say we make a change to boost::addressof such that it no
> longer compiles in C++03 mode. Now Boost.Serialization in 1.83 will also
> not compile in C++03 mode.
> 
> So in that scenario: If you wanted Boost.Serialization to continue to be
> usable in C++03 code, you would have to stop depending on boost::addressof
> and have your own  boost::serialization::addressof implementation, etc.
> 
> Glen
> 

That's what I've always thought.  In the case of the serialization 
library, I expect the only non-trivial case would be deprecation of MPL. 
  Even that wouldn't be a big issue.  I've already found MP11 to be a 
nice improvement. I don't think it would be much work.  But then it 
still be more work than nothing which is what is is now.

I'm still not getting how anyone's life is going to be made simpler with 
all this.  The affected code is "old-fashioned".  But it's an 
implementation detail and it's well tested.  If you stop testing C++03, 
you'll find that libraries are going to automatically and inevitably 
migrate to the level of the lowest tested library.  (Ramey's second law)

FYI - Ramey's first law, if you leave the documentation until the end, 
you'll end up refactoring the API.

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