Re: boost, BOOST_HAS_VARIADIC_TMPL and std=c++0x

[David Holland <dholland-pkgtech%netbsd.org@localhost>]

On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 01:08:46PM -0500, Julio Merino wrote:
 > >  >  To be frank, Boost is a constant source of problems on arbitrary
 > >  >  platforms.  Sure, by switching to Boost.Config we may uncover
 > >  >  other/more problems, but I don't think it will make things
 > >  >  significantly worse.
 > >  >
 > >  >  I'd like someone else's opinion on this though before even trying
 > >  >  to make the packages not use the autoconf alternative.  Maybe Brook
 > >  >  can comment?
 > >
 > >My opinion is that given what Boost is, what it does, and the problems
 > >to be expected for it, we're better off wiring down its configuration
 > > as much as possible.
 > 
 > What are these "problems to be expected"?  Sincerely, it sounds
 > like FUD to me... and there is already plenty of that surrounding
 > Boost.  (Yes, yes, some well funded :-P )

Well... Boost does cause problems. Any slight variation in the C++
compiler can and often will make it randomly misbehave.

 > Anyway, leaving that aside...  I'm all for wiring down the
 > configuration as you say.  What I'm afraid of is that we are
 > intentionally diverging from what others do with Boost, so we are
 > probably trying to use the least tested side of their configuration
 > and thus exposing us to more problems than necessary...

yeah, I think it's lose-lose.

Perhaps we should file a bunch of upstream bug reports of the form
"your package uses Boost" :-)

 > >It's hard enough trying to figure out wtf is
 > >going on in the C++ when something fails; wading through to figure out
 > >what its configuration system did to you as well will only make it
 > >that much worse.
 > 
 > That's not any different than wading through the autoconf stuff
 > they have, which is also very "non-standard" and messy (last I
 > looked).

But that way it's at least the same from one time to the next. Or at
least, that's what I was thinking. Maybe I don't understand; there's
lots to not understand about Boost too. :-/

-- 
David A. Holland
dholland%netbsd.org@localhost