Re: [Boost-build] single threaded build with msvc-7.1?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-11-01 15:34:56

on Thu Nov 01 2007, "Robert Ramey" <ramey-AT-rrsd.com> wrote:

>>> This is really confusing and annoying behavior.
>>
>> This is by-design,
>
> I'm aware of that.  In fact, that is the substance of my complaint.
> Its not that bjam is not a huge accomplishment in a technical
> sense or that its this or that bug or whatever.  My view
> is the whole goal of a "smart program which figures out
> what the user really should want" is a bad idea.  

That isn't a goal of Boost.Build.

It does "try to figure out what the user wants" the same way that your
C++ compiler does or any other moderately interesting program.

I think you're pointing to a real problem, though I think your
characterization of the problem is fairly useless to anyone who wants
to improve things.  I would restate it like this: the language that
one uses to express what one wants the system to do has semantics that
are not straightforward, and are sometimes counterintuitive and
undocumented.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
http://www.boost-consulting.com