Re: [Boost-users] Getting started with Boost: what did you need to know?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-02-01 17:51:35

Rush Manbert <rush_at_[hidden]> writes:

> I haven't had time to read all the responses to this, so I apologize if 
> I have duplicated someone else's reply.
>
> It would be good to know what the experienced users consider to be the 
> "everyday" or "basic" parts of Boost. The safe casts come to mind. I 
> guess what I'm thinking of is something along the lines of "even if you 
> use nothing else from this library collection, the following minimum set 
> will help you write safer C++ code."

_Great_ idea!

> I suspect that many of us first start using Boost because we're trying 
> to solve some specific problem. (I was looking for a platform-neutral 
> filesystem library.) We find the library we need and we use it. Then we 
> have another problem to solve, so we find the library that helps there. 
> Then one day we have the time to read through all of the library 
> descriptions and we find things that we want to use, and we realize that 
> we should go through all of the code we have written since we started 
> using Boost, and replace error prone things with better Boost things. 
> But by then we don't have time/our code has worked reliably for quite a 
> while/something else stops us, and we can't really do that. It would 
> have been nice to have read about those useful, basic things in the 
> beginning.

I do plan an overview of the scope of Boost in the talk.  Not that I
can describe everything, but I can give some sense of what areas are
covered.

> Other than that, the only thing you might add are testimonials on
> the home page. 

You're suggesting that I put the testimonials in my talk, or just that
we add more testimonials to the home page?

> Everything I have used (and it's a whole lot more
> than the filesystem library by now) just works. My experience with
> other open source code has not been so seamless and easy, so I
> really appreciate this about Boost, and I thank all those who have
> contributed to it.

Can we use that one?  :)

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com