From: Andreas Harnack
If you think that this doesn't belong to the standard, then please allow me to ask one question: Why is there a complex number class in the standard and what does it actually do?
There is rather less discussion about possible interfaces for complex numbers than for matrices. (The last time I used matrices in my code, I wanted A=B*C to mean A[i,j] = B[i,j]*C[i,j].) I would be quite happy if there was no std::complex. [snip]
And yet, the class is there, it's in the standard and it is useful. (Well, at least it doesn't hurt.)
NOT SO! Having std::complex /does/ hurt me. It takes implementation and testing effort away from bits of the library that I use.
All I'm trying to propose is to do the same thing with a two-dimensional array, about the second primitive data structure one could think of.
Well, I think that what you are trying to do is mistaken; HOWEVER, you are most certainly going about it the right way. Propose an interface (with reference implementation) for boost; get it reviewed by boosters; have people get some real-world experience with it; /then/ write up a paper proposing it for the next TR. It's very possible that I am completely mistaken, and there is a simple interface that a large number of people would find useful. This is the way to find out. -- Martin Bonner Senior Software Engineer/Team Leader PI SHURLOK LTD Telephone: +44 1223 441434 / 203894 (direct) Fax: +44 1223 203999 Email: martin.bonner@pi-shurlok.com www.pi-shurlok.com disclaimer