[CMake] C++Now / BoostCon / Boost 2.0

Thu Apr 30 11:20:56 EDT 2015

I wish you good luck on promoting CMake for Boost.

Generally, I find the Boost libraries to be of good quality. However, the reason I fear depending on Boost in any of my projects is the aggravation to get various versions to build. Applications that depend on Boost and are shipped as a binary, usually depend a waaaaay outdated version, and getting Boost to build… I gave it 2 tries, sufficiently remote in time for me to forget the pain it caused me in my previous attempts. Configuring and building Boost on Windows is a nightmare. I was relieved when I found that there is a project about converting Boost to CMake, but as you have said (and as the author explained to me) the project was not welcomed. I do not wish to cause the same pain for my users (and myself).

Boost Build is just too different from anything out there, it depends on software that is not used by anything other than Boost. It makes no sense in sticking to it, when from all I’ve seen CMake is superior in all regards. Taking into account that there is CTest/CDash/CPack accompanying it, it seems outright crazy to stik to Boost Build.

Cheers,

Máté

Feladó: Robert Ramey
Elküldve: ‎kedd‎, ‎2015‎. ‎április‎ ‎28‎. ‎14‎:‎47
Címzett: cmake at cmake.org

I will be giving a presentation at C++Now
http://cppnow.org 
https://cppnow2015.sched.org

all things boost - which will touch upon CMake/CTest/CDash.  I have
recommended CMake... for boost - like projects and would like to see it more
widely accepted. http://rrsd.com/blincubator.com/tools_cmak/ I'm aware that
in the past there was a large effort to switch boost to CMake from Boost
Build which ended in failure.

For Boost 2.0 

https://cppnow2015.sched.org/event/d66a14e9cc28cffbf446b1fd2c3f4696#.VT-AV87_Suc

 I will promote the idea of boost libraries being less tightly coupled. 
Part of will be to propose that library authors be permitted to select their
own build/test system.  Testing of Boost would be just the union of the
testing of all the individual libraries.  Here are a few observations
regarding CMake as it might relate to Boost.

a) In the CMake section of the incubator page, I've advocated creating a
library subdirectory named CMake which includes the cake scripts. The source
files or not in this directory.  The scripts contain relative path names to
source files in the directory.  This permits the CMake scripts to not be
sprinkled all over the directory structure but rather in one place.  I've
used this and found it to work very well.

b) I would like to see testing of boost libraries distributed to library
users/testers and others, and have their test results posted on a library
dashboard.  This would provide a number of advantages.  So I would like to
be able to recommend CTest/CDash.  I have made this setup work - but it
doesn't "just work".  I would like to see:

The CTest/CDash system has a sort of elaborate setup of experimental,
nightly, etc. which ties certain test names to different test frequencies. 
This is too complex.  Basically all we need is "experimental" which I would
more likely call "on demand".  This is what users need.  Download a library,
build it, run test suite and post results.  

It's great that you guys run the public dashboard and I would like to
encourage boost libraries developers to use it.  I would like to see a few
cosmetic changes but the idea is close to what I would like to see for
Boost.

I did meet a couple of you at CPPCon last september. If any of you expect go
to C++Now please contact me with any information and/or advice you think
might be useful to me.

Robert Ramey 

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