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| 21 | </table> |
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| 22 | <h1>Boost Library Submission Process</h1> |
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| 23 | <p>This page describes the process a library developer goes through to get a |
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| 24 | library accepted by Boost.</p> |
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| 25 | <p>See the <a href="lib_guide.htm">Boost Library Requirements and Guidelines</a> |
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| 26 | page for issues of content.</p> |
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| 27 | <h3><b>Steps for getting a library accepted by Boost:</b></h3> |
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| 28 | <ul> |
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| 29 | <li><a href="#Learn">Learn about Boost</a>.</li> |
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| 30 | <li><a href="#interest">Determine interest</a>.</li> |
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| 31 | <li><a href="#Preliminary">Preliminary submission</a>.</li> |
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| 32 | <li><a href="#Refinement">Refinement</a>.</li> |
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| 33 | <li><a href="#Submission">Submission for review</a>.</li> |
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| 34 | <li><a href="#Review">Formal Review</a>.</li> |
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| 35 | <li><a href="#site posting">Web site posting</a>.</li> |
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| 36 | <li><a href="#People">People page.</a></li> |
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| 37 | <li><a href="#Lifecycle">Lifecycle</a>.</li> |
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| 38 | </ul> |
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| 39 | <h2><a name="Learn">Learn</a> about Boost</h2> |
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| 40 | <p>Subscribe to the <a href="mailing_lists.htm#main">main developers mailing list</a> for a |
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| 41 | while, or look through the <a href="mailing_lists.htm#archive">archives</a>. |
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| 42 | Click around the <a href="../index.htm">web site</a>. Understand the <a href="lib_guide.htm">Requirements</a>. |
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| 43 | Read the rest of this page to learn about the process. Otherwise, you will |
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| 44 | just end up wasting everyone's time.</p> |
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| 45 | <p>There is a culture associated with Boost, aimed at encouraging high quality |
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| 46 | libraries by a process of discussion and refinement.</p> |
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| 47 | <p>If what you really want is a site that will just post your library without |
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| 48 | even looking at it, you should go elsewhere.</p> |
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| 49 | <h2>Determine <a name="interest">interest</a></h2> |
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| 50 | <p>Potential library submitters should use the Boost developers <a href="mailing_lists.htm">mailing |
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| 51 | list</a> as a forum to gauge interest a possible submission.</p> |
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| 52 | <p>A message might be as simple as "Is there any interest in a library |
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| 53 | which solves Traveling Salesperson problems in linear time?"</p> |
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| 54 | <p>A bit of further description or snippet of code may be helpful. Messages |
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| 55 | should be plain text; not rich text, HTML, etc.</p> |
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| 56 | <p>Please don't post lengthy descriptions, documentation, or code to the mailing |
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| 57 | list, and no attachments, even small ones. Please post lengthy material in |
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| 58 | the boost <a href="http://boost-sandbox.sourceforge.net/vault/">Sandbox Vault</a>. </p> |
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| 59 | <h2><a name="Preliminary">Preliminary</a> submission</h2> |
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| 60 | <p>If response to an initial query indicates interest, then post the preliminary |
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| 61 | submission files in the <a href="http://boost-sandbox.sourceforge.net/vault/">Sandbox Vault</a> on |
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| 62 | the sourceforge web site if you haven't already done so.</p> |
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| 63 | <h2><a name="Refinement">Refinement</a></h2> |
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| 64 | <p>Discuss, refine, resubmit. Repeat until satisfied.</p> |
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| 65 | <p>The exact details of this process varies a lot. Sometimes it is public, |
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| 66 | on the mailing list, sometimes a lot of discussion happens in private |
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| 67 | emails. For some libraries the process is over quickly, for others it goes |
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| 68 | on for months. It's often challenging, and sometimes leads off in |
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| 69 | completely unexpected directions. </p> |
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| 70 | <p>The <a href="mailing_lists.htm#archive">archive</a> of past |
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| 71 | messages is one way to see how this process worked for other Boost |
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| 72 | libraries.</p> |
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| 73 | <h2><a name="Submission">Submission</a> for review </h2> |
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| 74 | <p>All of the files which make up the library should be combined and compressed |
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| 75 | into a single submission file using the .zip format. Free encoders |
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| 76 | and decoders for this format running on many different platforms are available |
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| 77 | at the <a href="http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/">Info-ZIP</a> web site, which |
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| 78 | includes a FAQ and much other useful information about the .zip format. Many |
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| 79 | commercial compressor-archiver utilities also support this format.</p> |
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| 80 | <p>The submission file should contain material as if on the |
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| 81 | boost.org web site. The closer the submission file mirrors the final |
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| 82 | <a href="lib_guide.htm#Directory_structure">directory |
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| 83 | structure</a> and format of the web site, the better. |
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| 84 | <p>Like a preliminary submission, post the final submission .zip file in the <a href="http://boost-sandbox.sourceforge.net/vault/">Sandbox Vault</a> of |
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| 85 | the sourceforge site. |
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| 86 | <h2>Formal <a name="Review">Review</a></h2> |
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| 87 | <p>Before asking for formal review, your submission should be posted in the |
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| 88 | Boost files/vault. Please verify that your submission compiles |
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| 89 | and runs under at least two compilers. This flushes out obvious |
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| 90 | portability problems. If you don't have access to a second compiler, ask |
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| 91 | for help on the Boost mailing list.</p> |
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| 92 | <p>Once a library author feels a submission (which presumably is now in the |
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| 93 | files/vault) has matured enough for formal review, the author sends a message |
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| 94 | requesting a formal review to the mailing list. Please use a subject in |
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| 95 | the form "Review Request: library" where <i>library</i> is replaced by |
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| 96 | the library name.</p> |
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| 97 | <p>See <a href="formal_review_process.htm">Formal Review Process</a> for |
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| 98 | details.</p> |
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| 99 | <p>Formal Review schedules are posted on the <a href="mailing_lists.htm">mailing lists</a>. </p> |
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| 100 | <h2>Boost web <a name="site posting">site posting</a></h2> |
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| 101 | <p>Once an accepted library is ready for inclusion on the Boost web site, the |
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| 102 | submitter is typically given Boost CVS write access, and expected to check-in |
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| 103 | and maintain the library in the CVS. Contact the moderators if you need write |
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| 104 | access or CVS use isn't possible for you.</p> |
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| 105 | <h2><a name="People">People</a> page</h2> |
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| 106 | <p>If the boost.org web site doesn't already have your capsule biography |
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| 107 | and picture (optional, with not-too-serious pictures preferred), please |
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| 108 | send them to the Boost webmaster.. It is |
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| 109 | up to you as to whether or not the biography includes your email address or |
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| 110 | other contact information. The preferred picture format is .jpg, but other |
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| 111 | common formats are acceptable. The preferred image size is 500x375 but the |
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| 112 | webmaster has photo editing software and can do the image preparation if |
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| 113 | necessary.</p> |
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| 114 | <h2><a name="Lifecycle">Lifecycle</a></h2> |
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| 115 | <p>Libraries are software; they lose their value over time if not maintained. |
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| 116 | Postings on the Boost developers or users mailing lists can alert you to |
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| 117 | potential maintenance needs; please plan to maintain your library over time. If |
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| 118 | you no longer can or wish to maintain your library, please post a message on the |
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| 119 | Boost developers mailing list and help someone else take over as the library |
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| 120 | maintainer.</p> |
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| 121 | <hr> |
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| 122 | <p>Revised <!--webbot bot="Timestamp" s-type="EDITED" s-format="%d %B, %Y" startspan -->26 November, 2003<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="39365" --></p> |
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| 123 | |
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| 124 | <p>© Copyright Beman Dawes 2000</p> |
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| 125 | <p>Use, modification, and distribution are subject to the Boost Software License, |
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| 126 | Version 1.0. (See accompanying file <a href="../LICENSE_1_0.txt">LICENSE_1_0.txt</a> or copy at |
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| 127 | <a href="http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt">www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)</p> |
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| 128 | |
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| 129 | </body> |
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| 131 | </html> |
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