[Boost-build] ./b2 install --prefix=<DIR> is not really helpful

Subject: [Boost-build] ./b2 install --prefix=<DIR> is not really helpful
From: Fabien Chêne (fabien.chene_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-02-23 10:51:07

Hi,

Using BoostBuild basically requires two things: the binary (bjam or
b2), and the path to the 'library" (the BOOST_BUILD_PATH). The first
thing to do is to invoke (on Linux) bootstrap.sh. Then a message is
printed:

Bootstrapping the build engine with toolset gcc... engine/bin.linuxx86_64/bjam
Bootstrapping is done. To build and install, run:
    ./b2 install --prefix=<DIR>

It installs the binary and a build directory is copied. Unfortunately,
it does not seem appropriate to be used by the BOOST_BUILD_PATH or the
boost-build.jam. Instead, the parent directory should be installed --
the one that contains the file bootstrap.jam.

Furthermore, I tried ./b2 install --prefix=~/DIR. It resulted in a new
directory called '~', in the current directory, which shall contain
the whole set of files. Since it is a bit risky to safely remove this
unexpected newly created directory, I would expect a different
behaviour here. However, I'm not sure this is BoostBuild fault,
perhaps I should have quoted the --prefix parameter like that:
"~/DIR".

What do you make of it ?

-- 
Fabien