Re: [Boost-bugs] [Boost C++ Libraries] #2832: Asio sync IO functions need timeout parameters

Subject: Re: [Boost-bugs] [Boost C++ Libraries] #2832: Asio sync IO functions need timeout parameters
From: Boost C++ Libraries (noreply_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-01-17 13:27:16

#2832: Asio sync IO functions need timeout parameters
-----------------------------------------------------+----------------------
  Reporter:  Stephan Menzel <stephan.menzel@…>       |       Owner:  chris_kohlhoff
      Type:  Bugs                                    |      Status:  closed        
 Milestone:  Boost 1.39.0                            |   Component:  asio          
   Version:  Boost 1.38.0                            |    Severity:  Problem       
Resolution:  wontfix                                 |    Keywords:                
-----------------------------------------------------+----------------------

Comment (by Stephan Menzel):

 Well, things have been quiet around here and I would like to add a few
 words since so many of you have commented here.

 I have reconsidered my original opinion. I believe now it was part wishful
 thinking and part misconception of what asio is. I have been using boost
 for a long time now and I remember, in the first of those years I often
 thought: All this is great but what's seriously missing here is
 networking. No matter how much boost principles, types and libs were
 weaved into every part of my software I was always forced to drop out and
 become platform dependent or DIY when it came to networking. And I
 happened to do most of my work with networks. So when I stumbled across
 the first versions of asio (not part of boost then) I was excited and
 adopted early on. Later, it would become part of boost and I thought:
 Finally! Boost has gotten its networking! And this is how I thought about
 boost.asio, leading me to above statements. And yet, this was wrong. It
 has always been and still is "ASIO" as in "asynchronous IO" and not
 boost.network or whatever. So Chris suggesting to be asynchronous whenever
 this topic came up was right from his perspective. When you wanna do async
 io, you may choose this but when you wanna do generic networking sync and
 async, asio probably ain't what you are looking for. Sadly, this would
 imply that boost still lacks generic networking but I wouldn't go this
 far. There have been efforts with cpp-netlib but I don't really see that
 happening. As a result of this ticket here I have reduced the extent of
 asio's usage in my projects. Away from "using asio and its types whenever
 it comes to networking" to "using ASIO behind the hood when it comes to
 asychronous operations". In this regard, ASIO is still an awesome lib.
 Nowadays, I mostly use the io_service class directly for thread
 multiplexing and de-multiplexing. It never let me down and is well
 documented. A little networking now and then but not as much as I used to.
 I now often go native for that. I still believe that in the brutish
 realities of commercial software development it is not option to simply
 expect to go asynchronous everywhere. Large scale legacy products need
 refurbishing and maintenance, blocking third party calls will force
 constraints on your architecture as well as decisions made in the past
 that may be gradually changed towards an asynch architecture but rarely in
 one big haul. So exitsing synchronous parts and components will still need
 to have their place and pure async is certainly not the answer to
 everything.

 So after all I'm OK with asio not implementing those timeouts. I still
 believe the sync operations are useless without it but I respect the "a"
 in "asio" and don't have to use it. Let's see if cpp-netlib or anything
 like that make it into boost eventually. Would still be good to have sync
 and async networking in one go. As for asio, it became such an important
 part of all I do with threads and actions and such... Wouldn't miss it.

 Stephan

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Ticket URL: <https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/ticket/2832#comment:16>
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