-----Original Message----- From: boost-bounces@lists.boost.org [mailto:boost-bounces@lists.boost.org] On Behalf Of christopher diggins

In general I am curious about how other boosters feel about boost library sizes and inter-library couplings. For me this is a big obstacle to using boost in many circumstances. It doesn't seem to be a concern at all for the boost community, but I wonder if other programmers have similar sentiments and find themselves often seeking out simpler alternatives.

Hmmm.... What you "get" with boost, to me, far outweighs library dependency. If you decouple TOO much, you end up re-inventing the wheel too many times. I am currently, for example, writing a Domain Specific Language on top of boost.lambda. It would not make sense to decouple, nor does the boost dependency bother me. In some ways this is like saying that since I never use std::list<> and always use vector<> that I would like to purchase my compiler without this header. The std libraries are "standard" and you can publish code with list<> or vector<> and know it will work on people's compilers. It is in the same way that I see boost. It is something of a "standard". (though also a work in progress) It is not clear to me what the "big obstacle" is? If you are publishing an article, then say "boost 1.32 required". Maybe I am way off base, but I just don't see the issue. " For me this is a big obstacle to using

boost in many circumstances."

If you could tell us about the circumstances where this is a problem, we might be able to better see where you are coming from.