Re: [Boost-users] [Boost.MPI] question about serializing customobject

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] [Boost.MPI] question about serializing customobject
From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-08-26 16:35:50

> Change the "would" into "is": it is possible to mix Boost.MPI with
> Boost.Serialization. Any objext that can be serialized can be sent by
> Boost.MPI. This was actually the basic idea behind Boost.MPI, to use
> Boost.Serialization to pack and unpack MPI buffers, or to create
> custom MPI datatypes.    

On thing that I never understood is why you need MPI data types at all.
If one is serializing (packing) to a binary array, and sending that, what
hae MPI data types have to do with it.

If one were using heterogenious machines, I could understand the
usage of MPI types. But as I understand it, the MPI serialization presumes
that the machines are binary compatible.  So I'm just not seeing this.

Robert Ramey