John Maddock wrote:
A header such as boost/libname/foo.hpp is only consistent if libname is monolithic (does not comprise of smaller modules or sub-libraries). IMHO, that is good only for small libraries.
Works for MPL. Nobody ever wonders where to find anything in MPL.
Having just included a bunch of mpl header without looking at the manual once, I agree with that. And no I don't happen to have the names memorized (!), I just thought... "I wonder if the #includes are logical enough that they're called boost/mpl/and.hpp" so I tried it and it all worked first time :-)
That said there may be a case to be made for splitting into sub-libraries - we did that with Boost.Math to avoid confusion between a distribution called X and a special function called X. Non-the-less I hope the divisions are obvious enough that most people won't need to look at the manual.
So +1 for a mpl/type_traits style of organization from me too,
For the record, I am not against this. It is in IMO the logical choice for most libraries. What I am saying is that for bigger libraries, it is logical to organize in modules. When you have modules then that flat organization will start to break. E.g. if "x.hpp" is a header of module "foo" of library "lib", then, the logical structure is: boost/ lib/ foo/ a.hpp foo.hpp lib.hpp Notice that the header for module has the correct header: <boost/lib/foo.hpp> However, components of foo (a.hpp) cannot be hoisted outside its module. Thus, in this case, this is wrong: <boost/lib/a.hpp> Your example is a prime symptom of the breakage: "That said there may be a case to be made for splitting into sub-libraries - we did that with Boost.Math to avoid confusion between a distribution called X and a special function called X.". When a library is modular, clashes are typical, e.g.: boost/ lib/ foo/ a.hpp bar/ a.hpp foo.hpp bar.hpp lib.hpp So, now you have two headers "a.hpp" under different modules, sharing the same name. It then becomes obvious why this is wrong: <boost/lib/a.hpp> Regards, -- Joel de Guzman http://www.boostpro.com http://spirit.sf.net http://www.facebook.com/djowel Meet me at BoostCon http://www.boostcon.com/home http://www.facebook.com/boostcon