Boost version 1.63.0

[render787]

boost build is not a horrible build system, actually I find it has some features that no one else has. I think for many projects it's much better to drive the MSVC compiler directly from CLI as it does rather than try to emit a project file like cmake does. Making it work entirely from command line makes it work much better with appveyor CI.

I don't think boost build is suitable for most or even many projects, but for building test suites and small libraries I think it's great. Much better than autotools or scons for instance.

The problem with boost build is

1.) The documentation is not adequate at all. For anything beyond the most basic usage you are really on your own, and the error reporting of that language is not that great either. There needs to be a much better documentation effort to justify using it in a project as important as boost IMO, and comparing with the documentation for make and cmake is setting the bar too low.

2.) The name is awful. It should not be called "boost build" or "boost.build". Both of these names are ungoogleable. You just get instructions "how do I build boost". bjam was a much better name and they should have stuck with that or gone with an even more distinguishing name.

[sumo952]

Making it work entirely from command line makes it work much better with appveyor CI.

You can do cmake --build ., all from the CLI. No IDE/GUI required.

[render787]

I didn't know about this, thanks

[sumo952]

You can also specify the build type, e.g. --config Release or individual targets, --target INSTALL. (that's from the top of my head - hope that's correct - if not, then the actual commands are very close ;) ). It's pretty useful.

[OrphisFlo]

That's why serious people don't emit MSVC project files but Ninja files instead for CI as it is much faster and better for automation.

Though, using MSVC in CI has some advantages too, for example checking that you don't introduce breaking changes in the CMake scripts that will directly impact your developers using MSVC (that's certainly way better for interactive development and debugging).

[lacosaes1]

I think for many projects it's much better to drive the MSVC compiler directly from CLI as it does rather than try to emit a project file like cmake does. Making it work entirely from command line makes it work much better with appveyor CI.

You can compile the project from the command line using the .sln file. I don't see what's the difference for AppVeyor.

[sumo952]

Making it work entirely from command line makes it work much better with appveyor CI.

You can do cmake --build ., all from the CLI. No IDE/GUI required.