C++ std::tr2 for VS2005

Question

Is Boost the only way for VS2005 users experience TR2? Also is there a idiot proof way of downloading only the TR2 related packages?

I was looking at the boost installer provided by BoostPro Consulting. If I select the options for all the threading options with all the packages for MSVC8 it requires 1.1GB. While I am not short of space, it seems ridiculous that a library needs over a gigabyte of space and it takes BPC a long time to catch up with the current release.

What packages do I need? I'm really only interested in those that comprise std::tr2 and can find that out by comparing those on offer to those in from the TR2 report and selecting those from the list but even then it isn't clear what is needed and the fact that it is a version behind annoys me.

I know from previous encounters with Boost (1.33.1) that self compiling is a miserable experience: A lot of time wasted to get it started and then a hoard of errors passes across your screen faster than you can read, so what you are left with is an uneasy feeling that something is broken but you don't quite know what.

I've never had these problems with any Apache library but that is another rant...

Answer 1

Part of the beauty of Boost is that all code is in header files. They have to for template reasons. So probably downloading the code and including it in your project will work. There are some libraries in Boost that do need compiling, but as long as you don't need those...

Answer 2

I believe you're actually referring to TR1, rather than TR2. The call for proposals for TR2 is open, but don't expect to see much movement until the new C++ standard is out. Also, although boost is a provider of an implementation of TR1, dinkumware and the GNU FSF are other providers - on VC2005 boost is probably the easiest way to access this functionality.

The libraries from boost which are likely to be of most importance are

• reference
• smart pointer
• bind
• type traits
• array
• regular expressions

The documentation for building boost has been gradually improving for the last few releases, the current getting started guide is quite detailed. smart pointer and bind, should work from header files, and IMO, these are the most useful elements of TR1.

Answer 3

The libraries I am most interested in from TR1/TR2 are threads and the related atomics.

Answer 4

Compiling the boost libraries for yourself is actually quite simple, if not that well documented. The documentation is in the jamroot file. Run bjam --help in the boost root directory for a detailed list of options. As an example I used the following command line to build my current set up with boost 1.36.0:

bjam --build-type=complete --toolset=msvc --build-dir=c:\boost\build install

It ran for about a half hour on my machine and put the resulting files into c:\boost