On 22/05/2016 00:47, Niall Douglas wrote:
I began putting together an initial checklist of potential automatable C++ style and design checkers via a clang AST parser at https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/wiki/BestPracticeHandbook. The idea was that people could submit their library, and get it scored and ranked on a dashboard. All automated. Even better, non-Boost library authors could use the same system as tuneups for their own code - a solution truly serving the C++ community at large, not just yet more Boost parochialism.
It was not warmly received by the community. I got publicly accused of all sorts of malevolent behaviours, so I abandoned the effort and moved onto more productive uses of my time.
Would you mind providing links the messages that accuse you of malevolent behaviours? It is my recollection that the idea of automatic checking and ranking of libraries received basically the same objection as now - that automatic tests can easily check coding guidelines, or simple numeric metrics, but they hardly can be used to evaluate design quality, documentation, or usefulness of a library. Therefore, using automatic metrics for ranking might easily down-rank good libraries that don't meet some specific criteria of yours, and alternatively up-rank libraries that are good on technical metrics but are not good for real users. For some reason, instead of assuming that this argument is made by well-meaning, remotely-intelligent and somewhat-experienced people, and therefore must be at least partially sensible, you decided to ignore it, and assume malice. In fact, could you explain what are you goals? You've laid out pretty ambiguous plan, one that would likely require a dozen of people with plenty of spare time to make even the first step. In order to promote it, you've made antagonizing remarks towards Steering Committee, followed by remarks against older people (may I know your age, for the record?), followed by further wide-ranging complaints? Would it be sensible, at this point, to either: - Create a new project, called "Niall C++ Libraries", having nothing to with Boost (you can of course use existing libraries, since the license allow that) - Decide that majority of people here have no personal agenda against you, and try to push your ideas the way Robert suggested - by preaching them carefully and not expecting immediate from-top approval? Thanks, -- Vladimir Prus http://vladimirprus.com