Subject: Re: [boost] CMake Announcement from Boost Steering Committee
From: Thomas Heller (thom.heller_at_[hidden])
Date: 2017-07-21 12:07:10
On 07/21/2017 01:41 PM, Niall Douglas via Boost wrote:
<snip>
>
> Bjarne has often said publicly that Boost's biggest design flaw is how
> hard it is to get up and running with it quickly:
>
> - Why are top layer APIs riddled with templates instead of being hidden
> behind simplified convenience typedefs and non-template conventional OO
> class designs instead?
> - Why if most of the library is header only capable can't you just drop
> in a single header file and get to work?
> - Why is it acceptable for compile times to be so severely affected for
> end users?
>
> ... and the list goes on (more at
> http://www.stroustrup.com/bs_faq.html#boost). And how many times have I
> and other end users said the same now? Yet some library developers don't
> care: they want their cathedral pure and beautiful. And damn the end
> users if they are too stupid or ignorant to appreciate that cathedral in
> its untainted majesty.
Actually, there are exactly two items in your source:
"- It is too hard to download and use just one Boost library; the
libraries seem overly coupled making it hard to pick and choose.
- Some of the libraries are too clever for my taste. Sometimes,
generality and simplicity coincide; in Boost, the balance is IMO too
often so far towards generality that novices and average users are
lost." - Bjarne Stroustrup
So much for that, if you cite someone, you should at least do it properly.