Re: [Boost-build] Problem with mingw flavour

Subject: Re: [Boost-build] Problem with mingw flavour
From: Vladimir Prus (ghost_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-11-03 15:08:39

On Friday 31 October 2008 00:12:37 Steven Watanabe wrote:
> AMDG
> 
> Vladimir Prus wrote:
> > 1. Be able to select the right compiler, by giving its version and some
> > properties.
> >   
> 
> Whatever properties that are sufficient to uniquely identify the compiler,
> should be ok.
> 
> > The question of what features form primary key is tricky. 
> >
> > 1. If compiler is selected based on version alone, and target-os/architecture is set
> > from it, it means that we cannot have the same version in the example above. We probably
> > would need to have two versions -- specified by user, and the 'real version' reported by
> > compiler, which can be checked in Jamfiles.
> >   
> 
> So, the one specified by the user would just be a unique toolset id, right?
> 
> > 2. If we also use target-os and/or architecture in compiler selection, it forces the user
> > to specify those properties, which is inconvenient. The upcoming configure mechanism
> > will make it required to specif those properties only once, but still -- is this OK?
> > Maybe it is, after all when cross-compiling auto* projects, one usually uses
> > --target=cpu-none-os. I'd imagine that if we can reliably detect architecture of the
> > current machine, and the architecture of the compiler, we can use host's architecture
> > as default.
> >
> > I don't know what a really good interface would be. Ideas?
> >   
> 
> I think that it should obey these rules:
> a) We should only select a compiler which matches all of the relevant 
> features that
>     have been specified.

Specified where? On the command line? The thing is that we apply default values
before selecting the generators, so this might not work. In fact, it seems
that toolset/version/target-os/architecture are not independent features, so
probably they should be somehow defaulted as the whole, or some smarter selection
scheme applied.

- Volodya