Re: [Boost-users] [Boost.MPI] question about serializingcustomobject

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] [Boost.MPI] question about serializingcustomobject
From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-08-27 16:58:32

At Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:55:36 +0200,
Matthias Troyer wrote:
> 
> >>> <snip>
> >>> Interesting information which one should consider adding to the
> >>> MPI documentation.
> >>> </snip>
> >> 
> >> I disagree. We cannot and should not copy dozens of pages of MPI
> >> documentation. Boost.MPI is targeted at an audience that understands
> >> MPI but does not presume to teach MPI.
> > 
> > Dozens of pages?  Copy?  Teach MPI?
> > 
> > AFAICT, Robert is only suggesting adding 83 lines (~4K characters) to
> > the docs.  And frankly, even though I understand and have used MPI,
> > none of what I wrote seems obvious to me, and frankly it seems
> > important in explaining to people why they should use Boost.MPI rather
> > than trying to use MPI directly.
> 
> The question is where should we stop, where should we start, what
> should be explained. 

I don't think any of that is really in question.  We should just add
the stuff I wrote there.

> The MPI standard documents is several hundred pages long. If you
> want just a few lines discussing the advantages of Boost.MPI and of
> skeleton&content then this can be done. If you want us to explain
> all details of MPI datatypes, all details of the semantics of
> nonblocking operations (which caused other issues in the past),
> ....then it will soon be most of the MPI standard or an MPI text
> book.

Robert only suggested adding the information that I posted, almost
none of which is covered in the MPI docs.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
BoostPro Computing
http://www.boostpro.com