David Aldrich wrote:

Hi

I have a need to serialize some STL containers in our C++ application. We build for Linux and Windows but do not currently use Boost. Adoption of Boost would seem to demand that we install the complete Boost library on all our development machines. This is straightforward but would be a serious project decision.

Would it be possible to use the Serialization library by just adding the Serialization header files to our project directory and compiling them with our project?

Unfortunately no. Part of the serialization library is implemented in compiled library form (dll or static library). Some of the examples which use a limited subset of the serialization library are header only - but these are exceptions. The library includes a directory VC7IDE which includes a Visual Studio solution which contains projects for the library build, demos, and tests. This is what I use for development so I'm confident it works. If one uses this you don't have to use the bjam system.

Perhaps later we could install Boost in full .

Your strategy of getting started by just including some headers is a good one - that's how I got started with boost. Unfortunately it won't get you access to the serialization library. One note: Assuming you decide to bite the bullet and do the build of boost on your system, remember it's generally a one time thing. That is, once you have the libraries and dlls built you VS projects just include headers and the library directory. So though it might seem intimidating, it's one (short) episode of pain - rewarded with a long period of satisfaction. Robert Ramey