Daniel Larimer: On Jul 30, 2011, at 7:16 PM, Brian Wood wrote:
Daniel Larimer <dlarimer@gmail.com>
1) No code generation required (best for C++ to C++, but with a proper JSON interface can communicate with any language)
Code generation is being done by something here. In this case it is probably being done by a C++ compiler that starts from scratch for every file it has to compile.
I think there is a big difference between using the pre-processor / templates and using another program, another language, another dependency, another build step. Yes, there's another dependency and build step, but at least if you're using the approach I advocate you are rewarded with a cleaner build. I've been comparing the differences (between Boost.Serialization and
the C++ Middleware Writer) for a number of years now. The most recent comparison using Boost 1.47.0 shows the Boost executables are between 1.7 and 2.8 times larger than the functionally equivalent Ebenezer executables. I haven't compared the build times though so can't say which is faster, but obviously it takes more time to produce a chubby file than a svelte file.
Besides, even if you use a 3rd party tool like google protocol buffers, ICE, etc that does code generation, the C++ compiler still must start from scratch every time one of the generated headers is included.
Often times you end up deriving from the generated interface and your code breaks if you change the interface file, etc. Furthermore, now you must maintain the code for the generator, find bugs, bootstrap by building the generator, etc. I don't think there is any more maintaining the code or finding bugs involved with this approach than with the approach you are describing. The code is just in an executable form as opposed to in a library. With most serialization
Only a fraction of the code is in headers. As much as possible is in source files that don't have to be processed again and again. libraries you bootstrap by building a large library. What I advocate takes 1/10 as long to get bootstrapped as the Boost Serialization library. -- Brian Wood Ebenezer Enterprises http://webEbenezer.net <http://webebenezer.net/>