Re: class.jam performance issues

From: bill_kempf (williamkempf_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-07-22 09:31:23

--- In jamboost_at_y..., "David Abrahams" <david.abrahams_at_r...> wrote:
> From: "Vladimir Prus" <ghost_at_c...>
> > Further, we have a *lot* of other places where classes are used. 
For
> example,
> > each virtual target is a class. We'd have the same performance 
problem
> with
> > them -- finding the generator would require creating a lot of 
virtual
> > targets.
> 
> Yep, we're running up against the language limitations.
> I sometimes wonder if Python packaged with something like py2exe 
would have
> been acceptable for Boost.

Since I was one of the people arguing strongly against Python at the 
time, I think I should at least comment here ;).

>From a personal stand point, I'm regretting the stance I took back 
then. The capabilities present in a system like ScCons are very 
appealing. Meld some of the Boost.Build stuff onto that system (for 
instance, toolsets and variants) and I'd feel like I was in build 
nirvana. And since we've had some changes in my corporation it's a 
little easier to convince the powers that be to allow the 
installation of such a toolset. :(

But, despite my regrets, I still think the arguments I made back then 
are valid. Putting on my thinking hat from those days and using it 
to evaluate py2exe, I'm not sure even that would have worked for me. 
If the resultant executable were small enough I might have been able 
to sneak it in "through the back door" by placing it under version 
control and having the build process pull it out and run it locally. 
If I'd been caught doing this I'd have had to justify it, which would 
have been a pain, but I might personally have taken that route. I 
think others might not have been able to do even this, though. (And 
yes, I know this is stupid, because boot strapping Jam today is 
hardly any different, but we live in the world we live in.)

What really stinks about this, though, is that a small number of 
people (such as myself) seem to be holding Boost back from having a 
portable, usable and robust build system (not that the Jam stuff 
can't ever achieve this, or that it's far from it today, but I think 
you know what I mean). :( 

Bill Kempf