- Boost - lists.boost.org

Re: [boost] new smart pointer suggestion
by axter 02 Jan '06

02 Jan '06

"Preston A. Elder" <prez(a)neuromancy.net> wrote in message news:<dp8ak1$u33$1(a)sea.gmane.org>... > Hey, > > What does everyone think of a new smart pointer called deep_ptr. > > This pointer would hold a unique pointer (only one copy at a time), > but provide convenient syntax to have a deep copy of the underlying > data on an operator= call. > > A sample implementation would be something like: > > template<typename T> > class deep_ptr > { > typedef deep_ptr<T> this_type; > > public: > typedef T element_type; > typedef T value_type; > typedef T * pointer; > typedef T & reference; > > deep_ptr() : px(NULL) {} > deep_ptr(T * ptr) : px(ptr) {} > deep_ptr(deep_ptr const & in) : px(new T(*in.px)) {} > deep_ptr &operator=(deep_ptr const & in) > { > delete px; > px = new T(*in.px); > } > ~deep_ptr() { delete px; } > > void reset() > { > this_type().swap(*this); > } > > template<typename U> > void reset(U * p) > { > BOOST_ASSERT(p == 0 || p != px); > this_type(p).swap(*this); > } > > reference operator* () const > { > BOOST_ASSERT(px != 0); > return *px; > } > > T * operator->() const > { > BOOST_ASSERT(px != 0); > return px; > } > > T * get() const > { > return px; > } > > operator bool () const > { > return px != 0; > } > > bool operator! () const > { > return px == 0; > } > > void swap(deep_ptr<T> & other) > { > std::swap(px, other.px); > } > > private: > T *px; > }; > > template<typename T, typename U> > inline bool operator==(deep_ptr<T> const & a, deep_ptr<U> const & b) { > return a.get() == b.get(); > } > > template<typename T, typename U> > inline bool operator!=(deep_ptr<T> const & a, deep_ptr<U> const & b) { > return a.get() != b.get(); > } > > template<typename T, typename U> > inline bool operator<(deep_ptr<T> const & a, deep_ptr<U> const & b) { > return a.get() < b.get(); > } > > template<class T> > inline void swap(deep_ptr<T> & a, deep_ptr<T> & b) > { > a.swap(b); > } > > This way, as I said, each copy would have its own version of the data, > but in a class that uses it, you would not then have to write your own > operator= for that class to handle the deep copy, you just make it use > a deep_ptr instead of a regular pointer. > > I'll admit, its simply a case of adding syntactical sugar, but I could > see how this would become extremely useful :) > > -- > PreZ :) > I've previously suggested a similar class. Check out the following links: http://code.axter.com/copy_ptr.h (Deep copy clone (sole owner ship) pointer) http://code.axter.com/cow_ptr.h (Deep copy COW smart pointer Be aware, that your deep_ptr class will not work correctly using an abstract pointer. The copy_ptr and cow_ptr will clone (deep copy) the type pass to the constructor. In order for your deep_ptr to work correctly, it needs to either capture the type on the constructor and then save it, or implement a clone() function requirement for the target type.

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Multi-lock semantics?
by Preston A. Elder 02 Jan '06

02 Jan '06

Hey all, What happened to the multi-lock semantics? I had expected by now to see something like: // Takes two mutexes as arguments, locking them in a pre-defined order // (ie. lowest ptr first). Blocks until both locked. boost::mutex::dual_scoped_lock // Same as above but recursive. boost::recursive_mutex::dual_scoped_lock // Same as boost::mutex::dual_scoped_lock, however if one cannot be // acquired, both are released (ie. the first is unlocked again). boost::try_mutex::dual_scoped_lock // Same as above but recursive. boost::recursive_try_mutex::dual_scoped_lock // Same as boost::mutex::dual_scoped_lock, however if both can't be // acquired in the specified time limit, both are released. boost::timed_mutex::dual_scoped_lock // Same as above but recursive. boost::recursive_timed_mutex::dual_scoped_lock I assume that a dual_scoped_lock would then have a first() and second() member that would yeild the underlying scoped_lock for the first-locked and second-locked mutex (from which you could compare the mutex it locks to one of your mutexes and figure out which was locked first). Similarly, it would be nice to say, have a 'multi' version of the above for an arbitary number of locks (and an appropriate operator[] rather than first() and second()). We all know the old thing about the way to avoid deadlocks is to acquire them in the same order, and the threads FAQ says some kind of way to do this without the ugly syntax that is in the FAQ being necessary (see http://www.boost.org/doc/html/threads/faq.html#id2786718 and the code segment below which includes implementing such wise advice). I'm sure I could knock something that implements the above (at least for dual) in not too long, implementing something for multi would be harder (though I immagine someone who is familiar with how boost::function works might not have a tough time making an equivalent for mutex locking). Anyway, anyone want to get on to this? -- PreZ :) Death is life's way of telling you you've been fired. -- R. Geis

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PP re-entrancy question
by Arkadiy Vertleyb 02 Jan '06

02 Jan '06

Hi, The typeof library defines a macro, REGISTER_TEMPLATE, that is intended for use by the library users. Once people started using the library, they eventually wanted to use this macro inside the Boost PP looping constructs, such as SEQ_FOR_EACH, etc. Since the implementation of REGISTER_TEMPLATE itself uses quite a few looping constructs, people ran into re-entrancy issues. I would like the users to be able to use the macro with whichever looping construct they prefer, and, AFAIU, the easiast (only?) way to achieve this would be to limit the macro implementation to only use automatically re-entrant macros, such as BOOST_PP_REPEAT. Is this the right way to go for this particular case, and generally for any macro that is in the library interface? Thanks, Arkadiy

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[asio] simple coroutine lib.
by Giovanni P. Deretta 01 Jan '06

01 Jan '06

I'm posting this under the asio header because it depends heavily on asio... I've uploaded in the vault a simple coroutine lib. Only works under unix though, but windows support could be added by some one with more knowledge than me of win32 fibers. In pratice the coroutine lib allow the creation of separate user contextes, and provides functions that return functors that when called reactivate the coroutine. This functors can be provided as callbacks to asio asynch functions. There is still a lot of work to do before the lib becomes actually useful, but it is quite good for just a weekend conding project. Plese, critique and comment :) --- Giovanni P. Deretta

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Error w/ wave/cpp_exceptions.hpp?
by Kon Lovett 01 Jan '06

01 Jan '06

Shouldn't wave/cpp_exceptions.hpp be 373c373 < char const* get_related_name() const --- > char const* get_related_name() const throw() Best Wishes, Kon

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asio review -- number of allowed timers
by Jeff Garland 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

Hopefully this issue hasn't already been discussed -- I apologize if it has -- I've only been able to skim much of the last few days discussion... Another issue discussed by the 'Phoenix Group' (see my IPV4 email for explanation) is the specification of the number of portable timers allowed by asio. As many folks on this list are aware, the number of actual timers that can be set varies by operating system. This fact makes writing portable code that scales to a large number of timers difficult. From our reading of the asio docs there is no statement of limits on the number of timers. One might infer from this that the interface will portably support as many timers as users wish. While this might seem to contradict with OS based limits, it actually doesn't -- ACE and other libraries work around OS limitations by using internal timer queues that minimize (typically to one) the number of actual timers set in the OS. I've had a brief look at the implementation, but it's not clear to me that asio is doing this in all cases. So the questions are: 1) Is the intent to support an 'unlimited' number of timers portably? 2) If yes, does the implementation do this for all platforms? Jeff

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Bug list status
by Marshall Clow 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

Six weeks ago: 93 open bugs Five weeks ago: 95 open bugs Four weeks ago: 77 open bugs. Three weeks ago: 70 open bugs. Two week ago: 64 open bugs One week ago: 65 open bugs Today: 64 open bugs Now that 1.33.1 has been released, let's get these bugs cleaned up... Thank you for your cooperation! If you think that a bug has been assigned incorrectly, please let me know. Bug counts per assignee: Mike Glassford 13 Doug Gregor 8 Stephen Cleary (shammah) 6 Jonathan Turkanis 4 Joerg Walter 4 Beman Dawes 3 Joel de guzman (djowel) 3 Jeff Garland (az_sw_dude) 3 Gennadiy Rozental (rogeeff) 3 Jeremy Siek 3 John R. Bandela 2 Eric Friedman (ebf) 2 Thorsten Ottosen (nesotto) 2 Vladimir Prus 1 Kevlin Henney 1 Hubert Holin 1 Samuel Kremp 1 Jens Maurer 1 John Maddock 1 Rene Rivera (grafik) 1 Daniel Wallin 1 Here are the currently opened bugs, sorted by assignee. Assignee: az_sw_dude <http://sourceforge.net/users/az_sw_dude/> Summary: wrong usage of ios_base::narrow Bug #: 989487 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=989487&group_id=75…> Assignee: az_sw_dude <http://sourceforge.net/users/az_sw_dude/> Summary: date_time type conversion warning Bug #: 1069225 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1069225&group_id=7…> Assignee: az_sw_dude <http://sourceforge.net/users/az_sw_dude/> Summary: local_adjustor::utc_to_local throws 'Time label invalid' Bug #: 1220011 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1220011&group_id=7…> Assignee: beman_dawes <http://sourceforge.net/users/beman_dawes/> Summary: clock is not portable Bug #: 788762 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=788762&group_id=75…> Assignee: beman_dawes <http://sourceforge.net/users/beman_dawes/> Summary: boost::filesystem::exists has bugs with UNC paths Bug #: 1164057 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1164057&group_id=7…> Assignee: beman_dawes <http://sourceforge.net/users/beman_dawes/> Summary: Problems with native_file_string() on windows Bug #: 1378631 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1378631&group_id=7…> Assignee: daniel_wallin <http://sourceforge.net/users/daniel_wallin/> Summary: [Parameter] Docco error section 2.7.2 Bug #: 1378446 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1378446&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: EdgeListS = setS for adjacency_list does not work Bug #: 1163077 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1163077&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: LEDA graph adaptors do not handle hidden nodes properly Bug #: 1168431 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1168431&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: random_vertex/random_edge are unnecessarily inefficient Bug #: 1204684 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1204684&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: Document copy_component Bug #: 1204688 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1204688&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: reverse_graph and constness of property maps Bug #: 1246336 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1246336&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: html docs frequently missing key words Bug #: 1294420 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1294420&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: EdgeListS = has_setS for adjacency_list does not work Bug #: 1352049 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1352049&group_id=7…> Assignee: dgregor <http://sourceforge.net/users/dgregor/> Summary: predicates without default constructor fail to compile (2) Bug #: 1353875 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1353875&group_id=7…> Assignee: djowel <http://sourceforge.net/users/djowel/> Summary: Miss ' = ParserT()' Bug #: 907299 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=907299&group_id=75…> Assignee: djowel <http://sourceforge.net/users/djowel/> Summary: spirit insert_key_actor.hpp Bug #: 1059936 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1059936&group_id=7…> Assignee: djowel <http://sourceforge.net/users/djowel/> Summary: Another config correction for Sun C++ Bug #: 1220782 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1220782&group_id=7…> Assignee: ebf <http://sourceforge.net/users/ebf/> Summary: boost::blank - missing operators Bug #: 1191356 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1191356&group_id=7…> Assignee: ebf <http://sourceforge.net/users/ebf/> Summary: [variant] Bug in recursive_wrapper_fwd.hpp Bug #: 1359257 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1359257&group_id=7…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: timeconv.inl to_duration() nsec error Bug #: 548104 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=548104&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: Solaris - once.cpp compile error Bug #: 549162 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=549162&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: AIX 4.3 SIGSEGV at thread termination Bug #: 551577 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=551577&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: boost::threads uses msvc only function? Bug #: 568951 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=568951&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: BCB6 throw EExternelException Bug #: 596149 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=596149&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: thread_cleanup problems Bug #: 649291 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=649291&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: Mac implementation of threads is CPU hog Bug #: 885045 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=885045&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: xtime_cmp: use comparison not subtraction Bug #: 993272 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=993272&group_id=75…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: condition variables and recursive_mutex Bug #: 1072605 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1072605&group_id=7…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: compiler error on Mac implementation of threads Bug #: 1201779 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1201779&group_id=7…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: timeconv.inl line 116 copy/paste error Bug #: 1239052 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1239052&group_id=7…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: Exception safety in class 'thread' Bug #: 1305885 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1305885&group_id=7…> Assignee: glassfordm <http://sourceforge.net/users/glassfordm/> Summary: mistake in documentation of condition Bug #: 1364416 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1364416&group_id=7…> Assignee: grafik <http://sourceforge.net/users/grafik/> Summary: boost jam problem with parallel builds Bug #: 1234224 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1234224&group_id=7…> Assignee: hubert_holin <http://sourceforge.net/users/hubert_holin/> Summary: Cannot compile octonion_test.cpp because of bug in sinc.hpp Bug #: 751289 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=751289&group_id=75…> Assignee: jbandela <http://sourceforge.net/users/jbandela/> Summary: Compiler error for tokenizer on Solaris Bug #: 976241 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=976241&group_id=75…> Assignee: jbandela <http://sourceforge.net/users/jbandela/> Summary: token_iterator::at_end() result is inversed Bug #: 1338326 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1338326&group_id=7…> Assignee: jmaurer <http://sourceforge.net/users/jmaurer/> Summary: Diff in state of mersenne_twister gen between GCC3.41 & CW9 Bug #: 1115124 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1115124&group_id=7…> Assignee: joerg_walter <http://sourceforge.net/users/joerg_walter/> Summary: bug in ublas/storage.hpp Bug #: 1095697 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1095697&group_id=7…> Assignee: joerg_walter <http://sourceforge.net/users/joerg_walter/> Summary: dead links in uBLAS page Bug #: 1169273 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1169273&group_id=7…> Assignee: joerg_walter <http://sourceforge.net/users/joerg_walter/> Summary: Documentation not available on web site: Bug #: 1228242 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1228242&group_id=7…> Assignee: joerg_walter <http://sourceforge.net/users/joerg_walter/> Summary: uBLAS::subslice doesn't work Bug #: 1292635 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1292635&group_id=7…> Assignee: johnmaddock <http://sourceforge.net/users/johnmaddock/> Summary: Adding boost::is_complex to type_traits.hpp Bug #: 1315712 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1315712&group_id=7…> Assignee: jsiek <http://sourceforge.net/users/jsiek/> Summary: invalid result for File Dependency Examp Bug #: 551110 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=551110&group_id=75…> Assignee: jsiek <http://sourceforge.net/users/jsiek/> Summary: Spelling of Edmonds-Karp-Algorithm Bug #: 1226292 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1226292&group_id=7…> Assignee: jsiek <http://sourceforge.net/users/jsiek/> Summary: g++ v3.2.3 inker error for read_graphviz ih boost v1.33.1 Bug #: 1378907 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1378907&group_id=7…> Assignee: kevlin <http://sourceforge.net/users/kevlin/> Summary: lexical_cast & pure virtual functions & VC 8 STL Bug #: 1358600 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1358600&group_id=7…> Assignee: nesotto <http://sourceforge.net/users/nesotto/> Summary: boost.range and 'const char[]'. Bug #: 1272315 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1272315&group_id=7…> Assignee: nesotto <http://sourceforge.net/users/nesotto/> Summary: [Boost.Range]boost::const_begin calls non-qualified 'begin' Bug #: 1361686 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1361686&group_id=7…> Assignee: rogeeff <http://sourceforge.net/users/rogeeff/> Summary: typo in Boost.Test document Bug #: 629685 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=629685&group_id=75…> Assignee: rogeeff <http://sourceforge.net/users/rogeeff/> Summary: Don't work multilevel hierarchy of test suites in dll. Bug #: 1076691 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1076691&group_id=7…> Assignee: rogeeff <http://sourceforge.net/users/rogeeff/> Summary: header problem in boost::test Bug #: 1365753 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1365753&group_id=7…> Assignee: samuel_k <http://sourceforge.net/users/samuel_k/> Summary: format: assert when parsing invalid pattern Bug #: 1326132 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1326132&group_id=7…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: ct_gcd_lcm.hpp compilation error Bug #: 558174 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=558174&group_id=75…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: test_pool_alloc.cpp not compile CW8.1 Bug #: 586779 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=586779&group_id=75…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: pool::purge_memory() does not reset next_size Bug #: 984124 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=984124&group_id=75…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: Borland compiler error with Pool, boost::pool_allocator Bug #: 988124 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=988124&group_id=75…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: perfomance: memory cleanup for pool takes too long Bug #: 995270 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=995270&group_id=75…> Assignee: shammah <http://sourceforge.net/users/shammah/> Summary: boost::pool_allocator breaks with vector of vectors Bug #: 1179641 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1179641&group_id=7…> Assignee: turkanis <http://sourceforge.net/users/turkanis/> Summary: rational operator&lt; can overflow Bug #: 798357 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=798357&group_id=75…> Assignee: turkanis <http://sourceforge.net/users/turkanis/> Summary: boost::rational documentation typos(?) Bug #: 1043616 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1043616&group_id=7…> Assignee: turkanis <http://sourceforge.net/users/turkanis/> Summary: no Boolean conversion for boost::rational Bug #: 1239906 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1239906&group_id=7…> Assignee: turkanis <http://sourceforge.net/users/turkanis/> Summary: problem with boost::iostreams when compiled with Visual C++ Bug #: 1365752 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1365752&group_id=7…> Assignee: vladimir_prus <http://sourceforge.net/users/vladimir_prus/> Summary: multitoken broken in program_options 1.33 Bug #: 1266877 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1266877&group_id=7…> -- -- Marshall Marshall Clow Idio Software <mailto:marshall@idio.com> It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

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asio review is closing...but...
by Jeff Garland 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

All - Thx all for the great reviews and discussions of asio. I realize the review is ending, but in a few emails I've read over the last couple days (haven't read them all) I've noticed that a few people are close to finishing reviews -- and we have several on-going discussions. Please don't stop! It's going to take me at least a couple weeks to sort thru all the emails/issues and make a decision. I don't want to lose this opportunity to provide the best possible feedback. Thx! Jeff

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[asio] Formal review.
by Dick Bridges 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

I vote to accept asio into boost. <design> I'm very impressed by the design philosophy. This is the only network library I've encountered that let me implement application-level framing (RTP development) *and* simple TCP-based message-passing within the same framework using the same API. I think the threading model chosen will scale very well to the new generation of multiple-CPU architectures that are beginning to appear on, for example, the (Intel) desktop *and* in the "ARM-rest". ;) <aside> Although I can understand some of the objections to requiring explicit assignment of the demuxer for "synchronous" applications, the meaning of "synchronous" seems [to me] to become a little vague in the presence of multiple CPUs each providing multiple execution units. I hope we don't loose the existing ability to allocate 'blocked' and non-blocking threads among demuxers to minimize thread synchronization operations. </aside> demuxer -> io_service[S] seems to be a beneficial change. No preference on singular vs. plural. </design> <implementation> I did not spend a great deal of time evaluating the implementation except to verify that it seemed to implement the design. Based on my reading of the other reviews, the details are best left to those much more familiar with c++ than I. One argument in favor of the implementation might be made on the basis of the number of changes that were made during the review itself. The initial implementation had to have been pretty well thought out to be able to make that many changes "on the fly". </implementation> <documentation> The documentation is adequate. (I am not a fan of Doxygen.) The tutorials provide a nice exposition of the basic concepts and, along with a few short "trips" into the reference documents, allowed me to easily replace an existing networking library with asio (and simplify the code in the process). I would like to see "handwritten" reference documentation. I have no evidence but I believe it tends to be clearer and more complete than comments from the code - even when written by the same person. </documentation> <potential_usefulness> Extremely useful for IP networks and other asynchronous block devices. (IMHO questions regarding *how* iostream-like support could be supported should be proceeded by justifying *why* iostream-like support should be supported.) Suggestion1: a little syntactic sugar that provides the ability to reset() an un-expired deadline_timer "atomically" without going through the cancel()/expires_from_now() sequence. Suggestion2: SCTP support? It's about to appear in both Windows and Linux and VoIP and/or streaming multimedia will probably make it fairly important in the next couple of years. </potential_usefulness> <library_use> I substituted asio for existing networking libraries in two production projects currently being developed and tested for embedded targets. I had a couple of problems but the author promptly straightened me out. The answers were, in fact, in the documentation. Compilers: arm-softfloat-linux-gnu-g++ (GCC) 3.3.3 g++ (GCC) 3.4.4 20050721 (Red Hat 3.4.4-2) </library_use> <problem_domain_knowledge> Fairly knowledgeable. Mostly "handwritten" network programming in Windows 3.x through XP (I was a MCSE/MCSD); UNIX SVR4; Solaris 7, 8 9; and now Linux. A copy of "Stevens" is never very far away. </problem_domain_knowledge> Regards, Dick Bridges

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asio review
by marcoh77＠freenet.de 31 Dec '05

31 Dec '05

- What is your evaluation of the design? The design looks quite good. There are some points I don't realy like, e.g. that there are no high level classes. The use for _simple_ network workings is too complex. It seems as if the instance user needs too much knowledge to start with asio. - What is your evaluation of the documentation? For a first release in boost it's good. But for the future there should be some more informations for network beginners like me. The first five tutorials shows how complex the library is because the examples have nothing to do with networking. It's realy strange and discourage for a beginner to use asio if he want to start with it. Although the tutorials are understandable. - What is your evaluation of the potential usefulness of the library? The asio library is very usefull and mainly _necessary_ for the C++ community. boost is the right organisation to push a network lib and to improve asio. For the future it's important to make asio more interesting for network beginners and simple network working. I think asio is a realy good base. - Did you try to use the library? With what compiler? Did you have any problems? I tried asio with the tutorial examples. I used it with VC++7.1 and everyting worked well. It looks like there is a mistake in the asio introduction, that said that you need only the headers of boost. But with the asio tutorials with the timers you need to build the boost.date_time library. I don't know if it's only for the VC++ users, but I needed in the first example the date_time library and not only the headers. But this is not a technical mistake. - How much effort did you put into your evaluation? A glance? A quick reading? In-depth study? I have worked with the tutorial for one or to hours. - Are you knowledgeable about the problem domain? I'm a beginner in networking and used to this day only high level networking library like for webservice calls and like this. Do you think the library should be accepted as a Boost library? Be sure to say this explicitly so that your other comments don't obscure your overall opinion. Yes it should be accepted! Best regards Amin Kharchi PS: Sorry for my bad english. "Jetzt Handykosten senken mit klarmobil - 14 Ct./Min.! Hier klicken" www.klarmobil.de/index.html?pid=73025

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