November 2005 - Boost - lists.preview.boost.org

Pointer issue
by Luke Anderson 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

When I load a serialized pointer (using boost serialization library), there are times when I lose the ability to do certain things to those pointers...for example I cannot delete them at times, cannot add them to vectors, and some other things...What might be causing this behavior __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com

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what about making vc8 support official?
by Bronek Kozicki 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

I hope that if we deal with python problems, support for vc-8_0 toolset might be officialy endorsed. There will be documentation needed about these PITA warnings and "#pragma warning ..." workaround that Jeff proposed. User would be supposed to put these pragmas before and after including boost headers, but those who care do it anyway because those (and other warnings) are actually triggered by standard library headers shipped with vc8. Doug, what do you think? B.

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Re: [boost] [filesystem] create_symlink() support for Windows Vista?
by Greer, Joe 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

> I've mentioned this many times in the past and have been "assured" > that they really aren't "symlinks". > Since I've used *nix about a total of 3 hours in my 4 decade career, > I had to take people at their word. > No, they just act like it in many respects. They are really called reparse points and it is how NTFS supports both symbolic links and mounted volumes. Basically, if the OS sees a reparse point flag set on a directory, it looks up a substitute path in an internal table, substitutes that path and continues parsing the path. This is quite different from symbolic links in *nix, however, they have a similar effect. They also have hard links (much like *nix) which are limited to links within a volume. The Windows resource kit has had tools for this stuff since Windows 2000. joe

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vc8 failures in bind mem_fn_eq
by Bronek Kozicki 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

Long list of failures at http://tinyurl.com/8pbw5 It looks as if non-equlity operator fails for all member functions Compiler used is release (not RC nor beta; it's RTM recently published in MSDN downloads) version. Error won't go away with new compiler build, as there won't be any in forseeable future. Peter, do you need help tracing this error? B.

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errors in 1.33.1RC, vc8, boost_signals.dll\vc-8_0\release\threading-multi\named_slot_map.obj...
by Bronek Kozicki 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

Error details in attached files. Oddly enough, these errors do not show up in regression tests, but they do appear when building boost manually in release and debug: bjam.exe "-sTOOLS=vc-8_0" -d2 "-sBUILD=release <runtime-link>dynamic <threading>multi <debug-symbols>off" bjam.exe "-sTOOLS=vc-8_0" -d2 "-sBUILD=debug <runtime-link>dynamic <threading>multi <debug-symbols>off" B.

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Re: [boost] Sermon at the Soup Kitchen
by Michael D. Crawford 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

I'm going to wait until Morning (Nova Scotia time) before I submit my article to Kuro5hin, as I don't like to sleep while my stories are in moderation. I added a fourth section to my article, which will be the last in this installment. It needs a lot of work. I need to add a few paragraphs yet, but Kuro5hin articles have a hard limit of 64kb because that's how big the database field used to store them can be. I have no doubt I can cut it down while improving my writing, but it's going to take some time. The new section is "The Right Tool for the Job", where I answer brother th0m's question, in response to "auto_ptr and it's Alternatives": "what does the very existence of this topic tell you about C++ as programming language?" http://localhost/goingware/tips/smart-pointers-and-automated-testing/#best-… It took me quite a while to realize I needed to address this in my article, but I discuss a must deeper question every engineer may have to answer for themselves someday. I ask you all to read this, and decide NOW, ahead of time, what you would do if you had to blow the whistle on a bad engineering decision, one that could cause someone's bankrupcy, or put the public at risk: Every Engineer's Solemn Duty http://localhost/goingware/tips/smart-pointers-and-automated-testing/#duty I'm pretty sure there are some other corrections that have been posted that I haven't implemented yet, but I'll make sure I make the revisions soon. The contents of the fourth sermon: IV. The Right Tool for the Job * Brother Mike is Overcome with Grief * Every Engineer's Solemn Duty * Why We Fight * The Most Dangerous Weapon Known to Man Sermon at the Soup Kitchen On C++ Software Quality and Institutional Resistance to Change http://localhost/goingware/tips/smart-pointers-and-automated-testing/ Thanks! -- Michael D. Crawford GoingWare Inc. - Expert Software Development and Consulting http://www.goingware.com/ crawford(a)goingware.com Tilting at Windmills for a Better Tomorrow.

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[filesystem] create_symlink() support for Windows Vista?
by Beman Dawes 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

Microsoft has published an API for Windows Vista supporting POSIX-like symbolic links. Unless someone has a killer argument against, I'll add a create_symlink() function to Boost.Filesystem. If anyone volunteers to test it, please let me know. --Beman

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Re: [boost] [1.33.1 Beta] Release is imminent
by BRIDGES Dick 03 Nov '05

03 Nov '05

> -----Original Message----- > From: boost-bounces(a)lists.boost.org > [mailto:boost-bounces@lists.boost.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Garland > Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 7:27 PM > To: boost(a)lists.boost.org > Subject: Re: [boost] [1.33.1 Beta] Release is imminent > > > On Tue, 1 Nov 2005 14:10:12 -0800, BRIDGES Dick wrote > > Maybe we should wait until Thursday or Friday if we can. > > > > Regards, > > Dick > > For what reason? > > Jeff I am *very* sorry. This missive was supposed to have been forwarded to a co-worker - not sent to the list. I didn't even realize what I had done until reading your reply. A very unpleasant surprise. Sincerest apologies, Dick Bridges

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Sermon at the Soup Kitchen
by Michael D. Crawford 02 Nov '05

02 Nov '05

Friends, I'd like your expert opinions on a C++ article I'm writing. I plan to submit it in a few hours to the community website Kuro5hin (http://www.kuro5hin.org/) I will leave it in "edit mode" until tomorrow, so I'll still have time to revise it to reflect your comments. From my introduction: "When I talk to those guys about how to write better code I have the sense that their experience of me is like going to church." "Many people go to church. How many are without sin?" "But I didn't learn to preach because I studied at the seminary. It is because I was a derelict on skid row until I was saved by..." "... smart pointers and automated testing." Sermon at the Soup Kitchen On C++ Software Quality and Institutional Resistance to Change http://www.goingware.com/tips/smart-pointers-and-automated-testing/ My questions: 0. Am I correct in what I say about the various Boost smart pointers? I say shared_ptr isn't thread safe. Am I right? If so, does Boost::Thread offer a way to make thread-safe reference counted smart pointers? If so, please point out any documentation to me so I can link to it from my piece. 1. I was hired specifically to revamp the company's software development methodology so they achieve high reliability, as even a single incident of failure of their Computer Aided Design product could cost end-users as much as a million dollars if the products designed by it failed to work as designed when manufactured. But when the chips were down, "Yoyodyne" founder "Jack" ordered everyone, me included, to cut corners so we could implement features faster. This led to my ultimatum quoted in the article. I'm now looking for a new job. My question for you is, given that Jack was not a programmer, and didn't have the first clue about how to achieve software quality (nor did the rest of the staff), how could I have overcome the company's resistance to change in such a way that it wouldn't have come to an ultimatum? 2. I have a few links to smart pointer and automated testing pages early in the article, but not many. Can you suggest others? I'm especially interested to hear about other test frameworks, not just for C++ but for *any* language, so that people who don't use C++ still have something to gain by reading my piece. How about frameworks for other kinds of testing than unit testing, like acceptance or integration testing? 3. Can you pick any nits with my assertions about C++ or the various smart pointers? Do you agree with me that the following is a case where auto_ptr is the best choice? Can you think of others? http://www.goingware.com/tips/smart-pointers-and-automated-testing/#when-to… 4. I say early on that neither auto_ptr nor the Boost smart pointers provide all the different kinds of smart pointers one would want. What other kinds can you think of? How would they be implemented? I already have a couple completely implemented, and keep thinking of more, but I'd like ideas for others to discuss in my next installment. I won't tell you my answers yet because I want to stimulate discussion. I'll be placing all my smart pointers under the Boost license and posting a tarball on my website. You're welcome to include them in Boost, but if you don't want to, I'll host them at Sourceforge. 5. I've already been over my article several times looking for grammar and spelling errors, but if you can still find any, please let me know. 6. If you were a sinner before you came to my soup kitchen's service, have I saved your soul? If not, how could I have made my case more effectively? Was your free, hot supper satisfying? Would you come back for more? My article is going to appear in two or three installments at Kuro5hin. The next one, yet to be written, will cover automated testing. I'm also going to cover exception safety, which I feel I have finally come to understand. Depending on how long the second installment is, exception safety might appear there, or in a third installment. I'll discuss the connection between RAII, smart pointers and exception safety. As I deliver each sermon, I'll add it at the link above. Look for them in the table of contents, quoted below. Part I * How I Was Saved o Smart Pointers o Automated Testing * Ultimatum * auto_ptr and Its Alternatives o auto_ptr Doesn't Work for Arrays o Take My Memory. Please! o The Simple Solution o Standard Template Library-Compatible Smart Pointers o That's Great! Is It Thread-Safe Too? o But Arrays? What About the Arrays? o So is auto_ptr Completely Useless? o Without Further Ado * The Right Tool for the Job Part II * The Path of Righteousness Part III * The Holy Grail Thanks for your help! -- Michael D. Crawford GoingWare Inc. - Expert Software Development and Consulting http://www.goingware.com/ crawford(a)goingware.com Tilting at Windmills for a Better Tomorrow.

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Boost regression notification (2005-11-01 [RC_1_33_0])
by Douglas Gregor 02 Nov '05

02 Nov '05

Boost regression test failures ------------------------------ Report time: 2005-11-01T14:47:09Z This report lists all regression test failures on release platforms. Detailed report: http://engineering.meta-comm.com/boost-regression/CVS-RC_1_33_0/developer/i… 0 failure in 0 library:

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