On Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Robert Ramey
I might mention - though it's slightly off topic - that a similar idea occurred to me with the xml_archive so that when one created an xml_archive he would have the option of simultaneously creating a xml_schema which could be used by an xml_editor to create/validate changes to the archive.
The problem is that depth-first pointer serialization as done by Boost.Serialization is really inappropriate for any kind of sensible XML schema creation. Things that really ought to be done with xml:ref end up being child elements, and you don't end up with a structure that's coherent for humans. One of our clients has already spent a great of money for us to develop XML serialization for their application, in part because they were dissatisfied with the results they could get using Boost.Serialization. So this is another area where you might ask yourself whether it's a use-case you really want to make the effort to support. It seems like an important application, but it could mean fundamental changes for you. -- Dave Abrahams BoostPro Computing http://www.boostpro.com