Hi, some misc, quick, comments about boost array: * the current CVS version has the required partial specialization for the case N==0; I haven't actually compiled it, but I suppose <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1484104&group_id=7586&atid=107586> should be closed. * in the mentioned specialization (I haven't checked the primary template, maybe there too), there are many repetitions of: failed_rangecheck(); return null_item(); Anywhere this is used the return type is either reference or const_reference, so one could replace all of those occurrences with: return failed_function(); where failed_function() is defined as static reference failed_function() { failed_rangecheck(); return null_item(); } For additional safety, functions returning a const_reference ought to do: return static_cast<const_reference>(failed_function()); NOTE: Going a bit further null_item() is not necessary, as one could use a return *(new T) directly in failed_range_check(), though I haven't thought of all the consequences in the case operator new is overloaded. * why are the two operator[]() functions range-checked for the case N==0? And what's the point of those BOOST_ASSERT( "out of range" )? --Gennaro.