Hello, here my review for Proto.
- What is your evaluation of the design? Very good. It is noticeable, that Proto has get many feedback from different projects like Spirit 2.
- What is your evaluation of the implementation? I haven't look into the implementation.
- What is your evaluation of the documentation?
I would likt to see more introduction and easy examples. And - as part of the introduction - what I can do with Proto. What are the advantages of usind expression templates instead of normal operator overloading? What can I do with Proto, which is not implementable with normal language features? Examples for transformation of expression.
I think, Eric should write a book for people like me, who is not a beginner of C++, but not a crack who makes the whole day metaprogramming.
- What is your evaluation of the potential usefulness of the library?
I think, it is very usefull, because with Proto I could implement little helpfull utilities like Assign very easy. And it is possible to create big DSELs like Spirit. But - I repeat myself - we need more beginner documentation to see and use the capabilities of Proto using.
- Did you try to use the library? With what compiler? Did you have any problems?
I work with the lib with MSV 2003, and I had no deep problems. Because of my limited knowledge of the domain and Proto it was hard to interpret the error messages.
- How much effort did you put into your evaluation? A glance? A quick reading? In-depth study?
I have read the whole documentation, but the second half only very fast. I have compile and test some examples. And I have try to build some little examples from scratch. In total I have spend 10 hours with Proto.
- Are you knowledgeable about the problem domain?
I have start using Spirit some years ago. And I was enthusiastic about the idea and the possibility of DSELs in C++. After that I tried two times to develop my own little DSEL, but it was difficult for me to understand and use expression templates. Therefore I fall back to normal operator overloading. With Proto this ideas become a new and better motivation.
Should Proto be accepted into Boost?
Yes - without any Restrictions.
Ciao Detlef