I'm not sure this kind of project would have enough complexity to actually work on for more than 2-3 weeks. Except for the actual calls to the underlying XML parser, there are little modifications to be done (API change to support multiple backends, maybe detecting them at runtime?, setting options if needed).
You may be underestimating the amount of effort required to help make a library Boost-ready :) I think this is project has the potential to yield good results for Boost. Obviously, the library wouldn't be reviewed for a year or so, but with the new distributed development model, that may be less of an issue. Also, if accepted, there's nothing to prevent you from expanding the scope once your mentor feels that you've completed your core goals. Andrew Sutton andrew.n.sutton@gmail.com