Re: [Boost-users] Boost contents

From: Jeff Garland (jeff_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-23 06:47:56

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:09:41 +0000, Foster, Gareth wrote
> Hello,
> 
> Just a general interest question which came to me reading the email below.
> 
> Are there any critera for what can/can't be added to boost? 

Yes, see http://www.boost.org/more/lib_guide.htm for details.  Mostly the
limits are related to portability, licensing, etc.  But authors must also test
interest as well.  If no one has a need for a library the community may reject
it as non-useful.

> Somebody 
> was telling me about ACE recently, which apprently attempts to wrap 
> POSIX with C++. 

The point of ACE isn't to wrap POSIX -- it's to provide a library for
application communication -- mostly networking apps.  ACE is ported to many
platforms and many applications can be written and ported without change.  On
Windows ACE extensively adapts the Win32 API.  So it's not just POSIX.

> It looks like there is overlap there with Boost. 

Yes, currently there is an overlap in threading.  ACE contains tools for
building threaded applications as well as Boost.  We've had lots of discussion
and work on a Socket library, but we've never quite got one to the review
stage yet. There are other overlaps as well, but those are the big ones right now.

> Does Boost have some similar aim, to be a set of libraries covering 
> a certain anlge, or is it litterally a collection of useful code?

ACE is much more focused than Boost -- Boost's goals include ACE's and much more.

> Would something like a GUI abstraction system be considered? 

Yes, there are people working on this on the developer list now.

> Or is the limit perhaps things that could resonably make it into the STL?

Nope, not at all.
 
> Hope that isn't off topic,
> 
> Thanks!

Sure :-)

Jeff