Boost is a set of

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

for the

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

programming language that provides support for tasks and structures such as

linear algebra Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations such as: :a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n=b, linear maps such as: :(x_1, \ldots, x_n) \mapsto a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n, and their representations in vector spaces and through matrices. ...

, pseudorandom number generation, multithreading,

image processing An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

regular expression A regular expression (shortened as regex or regexp; sometimes referred to as rational expression) is a sequence of characters that specifies a search pattern in text. Usually such patterns are used by string-searching algorithms for "find" or ...

s, and

unit testing In computer programming, unit testing is a software testing method by which individual units of source code—sets of one or more computer program modules together with associated control data, usage procedures, and operating procedures&md ...

. It contains 164 individual libraries (as of version 1.76). All of the Boost libraries are

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

under the Boost Software License, designed to allow Boost to be used with both free and

proprietary software Proprietary software is software that is deemed within the free and open-source software to be non-free because its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner exercises a legal monopoly afforded by modern copyright and int ...

projects. Many of Boost's founders are on the C++ standards committee, and several Boost libraries have been accepted for incorporation into the

C++ Technical Report 1 C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

, the

C++11 C++11 is a version of the ISO/ IEC 14882 standard for the C++ programming language. C++11 replaced the prior version of the C++ standard, called C++03, and was later replaced by C++14. The name follows the tradition of naming language versions b ...

standard (e.g. smart pointers, thread, regex, random, ratio, tuple) and the

C++17 C++17 is a version of the ISO/IEC 14882 standard for the C++ programming language. C++17 replaced the prior version of the C++ standard, called C++14, and was later replaced by C++20. History Before the C++ Standards Committee fixed a 3-year rel ...

standard (e.g. filesystem, any, optional, variant, string_view). The Boost community emerged around 1998, when the first version of the standard was released. It has grown continuously since then and now plays a big role in the standardization of C++. Even though there is no formal relationship between the Boost community and the standardization committee, some of the developers are active in both groups.

Design

The libraries are aimed at a wide range of C++ users and application domains. They range from general-purpose libraries like the

smart pointer In computer science, a smart pointer is an abstract data type that simulates a pointer while providing added features, such as automatic memory management or bounds checking. Such features are intended to reduce bugs caused by the misuse of poin ...

library, to

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

abstractions like ''Boost FileSystem'', to libraries primarily aimed at other library developers and advanced C++ users, like the

template metaprogramming Template metaprogramming (TMP) is a metaprogramming technique in which templates are used by a compiler to generate temporary source code, which is merged by the compiler with the rest of the source code and then compiled. The output of these t ...

(MPL) and

domain-specific language A domain-specific language (DSL) is a computer language specialized to a particular application domain. This is in contrast to a general-purpose language (GPL), which is broadly applicable across domains. There are a wide variety of DSLs, ranging f ...

(DSL) creation (Proto). In order to ensure efficiency and flexibility, Boost makes extensive use of

templates Template may refer to: Tools * Die (manufacturing), used to cut or shape material * Mold, in a molding process * Stencil, a pattern or overlay used in graphic arts (drawing, painting, etc.) and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs Co ...

. Boost has been a source of extensive work and research into

generic programming Generic programming is a style of computer programming in which algorithms are written in terms of types ''to-be-specified-later'' that are then ''instantiated'' when needed for specific types provided as parameters. This approach, pioneered b ...

and

metaprogramming Metaprogramming is a programming technique in which computer programs have the ability to treat other programs as their data. It means that a program can be designed to read, generate, analyze or transform other programs, and even modify itself ...

in C++. Most Boost libraries are header based, consisting of

inline function In the C and C++ programming languages, an inline function is one qualified with the keyword inline; this serves two purposes: # It serves as a compiler directive that suggests (but does not require) that the compiler substitute the body of th ...

s and templates, and as such do not need to be built in advance of their use. Some Boost libraries coexist as independent libraries.

Associated people

The original founders of Boost that are still active in the community includes David Abrahams. An author of several books on C++, Nicolai Josuttis, contributed to the Boost

array An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...

library in 2001. There are mailing lists devoted to Boost library use and library development, active .

License

Boost is licensed under its own free,

open-source license An open-source license is a type of license for computer software and other products that allows the source code, blueprint or design to be used, modified and/or shared under defined terms and conditions. This allows end users and commercial compa ...

, known as the Boost Software License. It is a permissive license in the style of the

BSD license BSD licenses are a family of permissive free software licenses, imposing minimal restrictions on the use and distribution of covered software. This is in contrast to copyleft licenses, which have share-alike requirements. The original BSD lic ...

and the

MIT license The MIT License is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1980s. As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license comp ...

, but without requiring attribution for redistribution in binary form. The license has been OSI-approved since February 2008 and is considered a

free software license A free-software license is a notice that grants the recipient of a piece of software extensive rights to modify and redistribute that software. These actions are usually prohibited by copyright law, but the rights-holder (usually the author) ...

compatible Compatibility may refer to: Computing * Backward compatibility, in which newer devices can understand data generated by older devices * Compatibility card, an expansion card for hardware emulation of another device * Compatibility layer, compo ...

with the

GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the Four Freedoms (Free software), four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was th ...

, by the

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

References

External links

* {{Parallel computing C++ C++ libraries Data structures libraries and frameworks Free computer libraries Free software programmed in C++ Generic programming Software using the Boost license

Design

Associated people

License

See also

References

Further reading

External links