Re: [Boost-users] [spirit] how to get_position() from a multi_pass<position_iterator <const char*> >

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] [spirit] how to get_position() from a multi_pass<position_iterator <const char*> >
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-08-22 21:34:52

Hartmut Kaiser wrote:
>>> Peter Schueller wrote:
>>>> On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 23:37, Hartmut
>>>> Kaiser<hartmut.kaiser_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> PS: I don't know how long you are using the Spirit.Classic AST/PT
>>>>> code already or whether this is a new project you just started to
>>>>> develop. In any case I strongly suggest to consider abandoning the
>>>>> Spirit.Classic tree parsers and switching to Spirit V2.1 (Boost SVN
>>>>> trunk). This is an interface breaking change, but overall and in
>> the
>>>>> long run preferable. The Spirit.Classic tree code is known to be
>> slow
>>>>> and buggy and I doubt it will be fixed. Spirit 2.1 is much faster,
>>>>> more stable and generally easier to use.
>>>>>
>>>> I know, I saw the announcement of V2 on the Website, but the
>>>> documentation only is about the classic Spirit, so I used the old
>> one.
>>>> ( http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_39_0/libs/spirit/index.html
>>>> automatically redirects to the classic documentation )
>>>>
>>>> Once there is a documentation I will certainly consider switching to
>> V2.
>>> There is documentation for V2.  It's just hidden.
>>> http://www.boost.org/libs/spirit/doc/html
>> And the point of hiding the Spirit 2.0 docs is.... ?
> 
> We consider Spirit V2 to be a beta version and the docs themselves are not
> complete. This will be rectified with Boost V1.41, where the docs will be
> complete and Spirit V2.1 will officially replace Spirit.Classic (whose docs
> will be 'hidden' from that point on).

I do not think it is wise to hide documentation when you want people to 
try a product in Beta. How is anybody supposed to find the docs when you 
suggest to them to try Spirit 2.0 or Spirit 2.1. Somewhere, on some web 
page centered around Spirit, you should actually have links to the 2.0 
and 2.1 docs such as they are.

If I search for Spirit, I find a Spirit home page at 
http://spirit.sourceforge.net/, but good luck in finding 2.0 or 2.1 docs 
from there. I can also find Spirit mentioned at the Boost home page at 
http://www.boost.org/, but again I will not find the 2.0 or 2.1 docs 
from there either.

As far as the docs not being complete, and their eventually being 
complete when Boost 1.41 comes out, please excuse me for disagreeing 
that is the way to create Beta software. I realize how hard you and Joel 
have worked creating and updating Spirit, but I myself have just grown 
tired, after many years of programming, of implementations whose use is 
suggested but whose docs are never up to par. I just think is the wrong 
way to produce software, even very high quality and free software as 
Spirit is, to make programmers work harder than is necessary to 
understand how the software actually works in light of incomplete 
documentation.

I will wait for 1.41 before I look at Spirit 2.1 to see if I might want 
to use it. I do not blame the OP if he feels the same, despite your 
suggestion to hime to look at the better, more functional, later Beta 
release.