On 05/07/07, Ninel Evol <myLC@gmx.de> wrote:
Different topic: ================ I read that some folks thought about the wxWidgets and the Boost (C-0x) team joining forces. I think that would be a marvelous idea!
I think they'd come to blows, given how reluctant wx seems to be to use any feature added to C++ in the past 17 years or so :| I don't think that's an ezaggeration, either. Have you looked at the wx developer guidelines lately? Looks like they want nothing from after the ARM: 1. Don't use C++ templates 2. Don't use C++ exceptions 3. Don't use RTTI 4. Don't use namespaces 5. Don't use STL 6. Don't declare variables inside for() 7. Don't use nested classes 8. Don't use new logical operators keywords ~ http://www.wxwidgets.org/develop/standard.htm
Currently the STL is quite useless. It basically serves for supporting book examples. For everything else you need either thread, network or GUI support (often all of them). As a result you have to use some library (wxWidgets, Qt). These of course all replace the STL completely - usually lacking some of those nice things the STL comes with (like exceptions). In other words: C-0x without GUI, thread and network support will just as well remain in the shadows of libraries providing that crucial functionality, sadly ignoring various accomplishments.
I object to the "of course". There's no reason for them all to replace the STL. In fact, the logical thing would be to build on top of the STL. Boost.Thread doesn't need to reimplement the STL, nor does Boost.ASIO, so I fail to see why other libs have to, to provide the same (or less) functionality. Last I looked, gtkmm was the closest to providing C++-style interfaces and such, so maybe there's hope. Unfortunately, http://www.omgui.org/, which was trying for a real C++ GUI lib, seems rather dead. The STL is also quite useful, all by itself. I'm using it heavily in my research. I have no use for GUIs or sockets. I tried threads, but my bottlenecks are all I/O, so they don't make a difference. I do most of my the output to console, with some OpenGL for visualization. No QT, wx, or other ancient frameworks needed, nor would they be helpful. ~ Scott