Re: [Boost-users] Boost.DLL formal review is ending soon - submit your reviews

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] Boost.DLL formal review is ending soon - submit your reviews
From: Edward Diener (eldiener_at_[hidden])
Date: 2015-07-12 15:24:29

This is my review of the Boost DLL library:

On 7/9/2015 2:13 PM, Vladimir Prus wrote:
>
> Boosters,
>
> I wanted to remind that the formal review of Boost.DLL library by Antony
> Polukhin is nearing the end - the last day to submit reviews is Sunday.
> Of course, not much discussion is likely to happen on Sunday,
> so if you have any thoughts, sending them on Thursday or Friday will
> be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
>
> The summary of the library features and review checklists are reproduced
> below.
>
> Boost.DLL is a C++98 library for comfortable work with DLL and DSO. Library
> provides a portable across platforms way to:
>
>     - load libraries at runtime
>     - import and export any native functions and variables
>     - make alias names for C++ mangled functions and symbols
>     - query libraries/objects and executables for sections and exported
>     symbols
>     - self loading and self querying
>     - getting program and module location by exported symbol
>
> The documentation can be found at:
>
>      http://apolukhin.github.io/Boost.DLL/index.html
>
> and the source can be obtained at:
>
>      https://github.com/apolukhin/Boost.DLL
>
> Please post your reviews on the mailing list and if possible, answer the
> following questions:
>
> - Should the library be accepted?

Yes. I vote for acceptance.

> - How useful is it?

I view it as very useful as it provides a cross-platform implementation 
of loading a shared library and invoking functionality in that library. 
This is a common usage of programming in all major platforms.

> - What's your evaluation of
>    - Design

The design from the end-user's point of view is clear and consistent.

>    - Implementation

I did not look at the implementation.

>    - Documentations

The name of the library seems Windows specific, since DLL is the term 
that Windows uses for shared libraries. Would not Boost DLM ( for 
dynamic loadable modules ) or Boost Loadable Library be clearer ?

I think the documentation is good and thorough but could use a general 
overview section which briefly explained what the library accomplishes 
and of what the general means of accomplishing it consists. The rest of 
the documentation is more than adequate. I could understand how to use 
the library fairly easily even without an overview but for the general 
end-user I think an overview is necessary.

>    - Tests
> - How much effort did you put into your evaluation?

I ran DLL's tests against a number of compilers on Windows, including 
gcc, clang, and VC++. I encountered some problems but not enough to make 
me think there was any serious problems in the design.

> - Did you attempt to use the library? On what systems and compilers?

I ran the DLL tests on Windows with mingw/gcc-4.8.1, mingw-64/gcc-5.1, 
clang-3.6, clang-3.7 ( latest ), and VC++12. Whatever problems I found I 
believe the library developer will fix if/when they occur in regression 
testing.