Boost considered harmful? [closed]

Question

Few points:

• Using anything without understanding is considered harmful. But it is only the ignorant technology user (and his manager) who gets burned in the end.
• You don't have to install boost to get the smart pointers - they are header only. And installation itself is rather straightforward, in the simplest approach just typing one or two commands.
• Many of the Boost libraries and solutions are present in TR1 or will be present in C++0x
• You will always depend on external libraries... Try to choose the one that have a bright future in terms of maintenance and support.
• Unless you want to roll-out your custom solution - which would have some advantages and disadvantages.

C++ is not a novice-friendly language. With apologies to Scott Meyers, a beginner isn't learning just one language with C++, but four:

1. The C parts
2. Object Oriented parts: classes, inheritance, polymorphism, etc.
3. The STL: containers, iterators, algorithms
4. Templates and metaprogramming

I would argue that if the beginner is already climbing this mountain, they should be pointed towards the more "modern" aspects of C++ from the start. To do otherwise means that the beginner will learn C-ish C++ with regular pointers, resource leaks, etc. Find themselves in a world of pain, and then discover Boost and other libraries as a way to stem the hurt.

It's a complicated picture no matter what, so why not point them in a direction that has a positive pay-off for the invested mental efort?

As for dependencies, a great deal of Boost is header-only. And Boost's liberal license should permit its inclusion in just about any project.

Do you know how the compiler works ? Do you know how the OS works ? Do you know how the processor works ? Do you know how electronics works ? Do you know how electricity works ?

At some point you are using a black box, the question is, "is my ignorance problematic for what I am currently doing?".

If you have the taste for knowledge that's a great thing - and I clearly consider that a plus when interviewing engineers - but don't forget the finality of your work : build systems that solve problems.

I disagree. No-one would suggest that you should dive in to smart pointers without a thorough understanding of what's going on behind the scenes, but used sensibly they can remove a whole host of common errors. Moreover, Boost is high-quality production code from which a C++ novice can learn a great deal, in terms of design as much as implementation. It's not all hugely complicated, either, and you can pick and choose the bits you need.