Re: [Boost-build] Future development

From: Felipe Magno de Almeida (felipe.m.almeida_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-10-04 10:02:39

On 10/4/07, Johan Nilsson <r.johan.nilsson_at_[hidden]> wrote:
> Felipe Magno de Almeida wrote:

[snip]

> > I'm not getting it. What is the problem of using header-only libraries
> > in C++ bjam rewrite?

> I'd say it's a chicken-and-egg problem (or a problem of circular
> dependencies, if you like).
>
> What if you've got a non-supported compiler, and need to build bjam to be
> able to try out boost (or to add support for the compiler). If the (even
> header-only) libraries can't be built/used with your compiler, thus
> disabling your possibilities for building bjam, how do you progress?

The same problem doesn't occur if you write your own parsing code? Or
if you use an external library?
How can you guarantee it will work on any platform without testing it first?

> Eating one's own dogfood might be a good practice, but perhaps not in this
> particular case. IMHO, bjam should depend on as few external (including
> Boost libraries) components as can be accomplished with reasonable effort.
>
> / Johan

Best regards,
-- 
Felipe Magno de Almeida