"Joaquín Mª López Muñoz" <joaquin@tid.es> wrote in message news:41ADE6BA.7E4EEAF4@tid.es...
Hi, I've just uploaded an upgrade of Boost.MultiIndex that provides serialization support at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/boost/files/multi_index_120104.zip
Docs are not yet fully upgraded, but there's some material on serialization support on the advanced topics page, plus a test case. I'd be grateful if those interested in Boost.MultiIndex can give this a try, and report about problems, missing features, improvements, etc. The implementation is a little complex, so some source code reviewing would be appreciated.
I did peruse the source code some. Here are some random observations. First of all on the multi-index package: a) I was surprised at how much was involved in realizing what seems to me such a simple idea. The fact I'm surprised at this is actually no surprise, as I'm almost always surprised at how much work it is to actually finish anything. b) This is an incredibly professional job - a very high standard. This documentation makes a great contribution to this impression. c) I believe that this is the reason the very ambitious undertaking "sailed thtough" the boost review process - (unlike most others). Aspiring library authors should study this as an example. Re the serialization aspect. I have to say I was a little disapointed that the implemention of serialization wasn't more transparent. I really couldn't follow the line from the serialization interface to the implementation in the time I was willing to spend. So I don't feel I can verify the implementation other than by testing. This always makes me feel sligthly uncomfortable. This isn't really a criticism and I'm not suggesting any changes. Only in reviewing the code did I become aware for the first time how much is required, so maybe it can be no other way. I'm a little disappointed at how much effort was required to implement serialization for this container. My hopes were that implemention of serialization for any class would be easier. Of course this is not a typical case so its not a huge thing. I'm curious if any of the complexity was a result of some requirement of the serialization package itself. I didn't spend a lot of time on this, so feel free to take any of the above with a grain of salt. Robert Ramey