On Oct 1, 2006, at 9:57 PM, Beman Dawes wrote:
Once a feature makes it into the working paper (WP), there is less risk involved. As the WP stabilizes (no new features being added, all work directed at finishing), the risk is much lower. But to do much more than experiment with a new feature before it even gets voted into the WP is asking for trouble, IMO.
Sure, but you can never experiment too much with a feature before it goes into the working paper, and we've learned that many features that look great in small examples---say, ADL---can cause big problems in the wild. We should encourage experimentation as much as possible. If it means setting up a regression tester with, e.g., the variadic templates compiler, we should do it. But, let's keep the uses of these new features safely tucked behind macros or in separate header files. We're not going to guarantee anything about their continued use until they're firm in the WP. Doug