Re: [Boost-users] [boost] condensed overview of boost

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] [boost] condensed overview of boost
From: Joachim Faulhaber (afojgo_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-05-26 07:52:14

Hi Olaf,

2011/5/24 Olaf Krzikalla <olaf.krzikalla_at_[hidden]>:
> Hi @all (und ein besonderes Hallo nach Offenburg(?) :-),

Berlin!

>
> Am 23.05.2011 15:14, schrieb Joachim Faulhaber:
>>
>> There is an overview on the boost web-site www.boost.org of course in
[..]
> My approach was to describe each library in terms of a specific problem
> solved by exactly that particular library. Sometimes it was difficult to
> find an appropriate problem.

Teaching boost is important. So thank you again for doing this. Boost
libraries have a mixed reputation. There is a lot of positive feedback
but some find them to be expert friendly, complex and freaked out.
Since many if not most boost authors have more fun designing and
coding than documenting, the docs are sometimes kind of minimal,
sometimes stale.

Your approach IMO is the best one. Finding a catchy use case that
really communicates the basic ideas and may serve as a little
template, both for memorability and for a getting started project is
extremely useful.

[..]
> IMHO icl::closed_interval could model numeric::interval, which eventually
> would reduce the number of libraries to teach.

thinkable, may be desirable, but ... I don't see this currently. ...
But well, why not look for possibilities. From the point of view of
users and teachers refactorings and simplifications like this one are
desirable.

> OTOH I'm aware of the problem that it is not so easy to put a boost lib on
> an obsolete/superseded list. No author wants to see his lib on such a list.

Which is not the only obstacle.

>> Meta State Machine is a library that generates finite state machines
>> completely at compile-time from meta code. MSN is more expensive at
>> compile time but may generate even faster code than a "traditional"
>> FSM. Maybe Christophe can comment on this.
>
> Eventually during my lecture I marked MSM as the more modern and more
> compact lib and usually the way to go.

I'm not sure. Completely relying on meta programming MSM, might be
more difficult to understand as State Chart and using MSM with large
automata may lead to compile time problems. But I don't want to say
too much here because I did not use both of them in real coding
projects.

Maybe Christophe can comment on this (haaallo, are you there?)

>> There is no ready made structure or institution within boost for this.
>> But definitely there are people who have similar thoughts, concerns
>> and intentions. It depends if someone is going to contribute and/or is
>> taking the lead for an effort like this.
>
> One thing that could help are some powerpoints available for the public
> giving that condensed overview. I could publish mine, but they are in german
> and actually consist of three different lessons.

Publishing this kind of material is surely good contribution. BTW,
boost usage in Germany (downloads per inhabitants) is higher than in
the US ;-) Maybe this is due to people like you, generating appetite
for people to use boost by teaching. Anyway the nice thing is, whether
big or small, English or German, it'll be a contribution to publish
your material via the web.

What about setting up a project for students, to translate your slides
and improve them for publishing purposes.

> I'm sure other people have already given boost lectures too. I'd like to see
> their approaches to introduce boost as a whole.

Sure, ..., lecturers ... are you there?

Cheers,
Joachim

-- 
Interval Container Library [Boost.Icl]
http://www.joachim-faulhaber.de