So, C++11 has been approved, and in the new standard library, there is: template <typename T> std::pair<const T&, const T&> minmax ( const T& a, const T& b ) but in Boost, we've got: template <typename T> tuple< T const&, T const& > minmax(T const& a, T const& b) { I can easily change boost minmax to return a pair instead of a 2-element tuple, but that's an interface change, and might break existing code. On the other hand, giving them the same interface will make it easier for people to move to C++11's library functions. Any opinions? ideas? -- Marshall P.S. boost::minmax_element, on the other hand, already returns a pair, not a two-element tuple. I'm pretty sure it doesn't satisfy the C++ complexity requirements, but that's easily fixed.