Joseph Turian wrote:
Hi,
I'm packaging some software for distribution, and the software depends upon the 'program_options' library.
I don't want to assume that the user has boost installed, or ever jam. So I was wondering about the potential for automagically building and using the 'program_options' library if it is not already present on the user's system.
I would include the source files in libs/program_options/, and write a small Makefile for it. I would also include all the Boost headers.
Is this sufficient, even though it wouldn't run the Boost configure script to determine system-specific settings? Can you see any problems in building this library without doing a full Boost install?
Generally, it's Ok to build any given boost library, including program_options, by hand. The Boost.Build system is a convenience, not an absolute must. The Boost configure script is mostly for "rare" platforms. On up-to-day Linux, Boost.Config will work fine, and so building the library manually should be rather easy. - Volodya