Index
The most reliable way to get a copy of Boost is to download a distribution from SourceForge:
Download boost_1_43_0.tar.bz2.
+Download boost_1_43_0.tar.bz2.
In the directory where you want to put the Boost installation, execute
-tar --bzip2 -xf /path/to/boost_1_43_0.tar.bz2
+tar --bzip2 -xf /path/to/boost_1_43_0.tar.bz2
This is a sketch of the resulting directory structure:
boost_1_43_0/ .................The “boost root directory” @@ -112,40 +112,40 @@ fromSome older libraries and most very small libraries place all -public headers directly into boost/.
+public headers directly into boost/.- Most libraries' public headers live in a subdirectory of -boost/, named after the library. For example, you'll find -the Python library's def.hpp header in
+boost/, named after the library. For example, you'll find +the Python library's def.hpp header in-boost/python/def.hpp. +boost/python/def.hpp.Some libraries have an “aggregate header” in boost/ that -#includes all of the library's other headers. For +
Some libraries have an “aggregate header” in boost/ that +#includes all of the library's other headers. For example, Boost.Python's aggregate header is
-boost/python.hpp. +boost/python.hpp.Most libraries place private headers in a subdirectory called -detail/, or aux_/. Don't expect to find +detail/, or aux_/. Don't expect to find anything you can use in these directories.
It's important to note the following:
The path to the boost root directory (often /usr/local/boost_1_43_0) is -sometimes referred to as $BOOST_ROOT in documentation and +
The path to the boost root directory (often /usr/local/boost_1_43_0) is +sometimes referred to as $BOOST_ROOT in documentation and mailing lists .
To compile anything in Boost, you need a directory containing -the boost/ subdirectory in your #include path.
+the boost/ subdirectory in your #include path.Since all of Boost's header files have the .hpp extension, -and live in the boost/ subdirectory of the boost root, your -Boost #include directives will look like:
+Since all of Boost's header files have the .hpp extension, +and live in the boost/ subdirectory of the boost root, your +Boost #include directives will look like:
#include <boost/whatever.hpp>@@ -156,9 +156,9 @@ Boost #include directives will look like:
depending on your preference regarding the use of angle bracket includes.
Don't be distracted by the doc/ subdirectory; it only +
Don't be distracted by the doc/ subdirectory; it only contains a subset of the Boost documentation. Start with -libs/index.html if you're looking for the whole enchilada.
+libs/index.html if you're looking for the whole enchilada.The first thing many people want to know is, “how do I build Boost?” The good news is that often, there's nothing to build.
A few libraries have optional separately-compiled binaries:
To keep things simple, let's start by using a header-only library. The following program reads a sequence of integers from standard input, uses Boost.Lambda to multiply each number by three, and @@ -227,11 +227,11 @@ int main() in(std::cin), in(), std::cout << (_1 * 3) << " " ); } -
Copy the text of this program into a file called example.cpp.
-Now, in the directory where you saved example.cpp, issue the +
Copy the text of this program into a file called example.cpp.
+Now, in the directory where you saved example.cpp, issue the following command:
-c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example
+c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example
To test the result, type:
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ echo 1 2 3 | ./example-4.1 Errors and Warnings
+4.1 Errors and Warnings
Don't be alarmed if you see compiler warnings originating in Boost headers. We try to eliminate them, but doing so isn't always practical.3 Errors are another matter. If you're @@ -254,20 +254,20 @@ correctly identified the -
5 Prepare to Use a Boost Library Binary
+5 Prepare to Use a Boost Library Binary
If you want to use any of the separately-compiled Boost libraries, you'll need to acquire library binaries.
-5.1 Easy Build and Install
-Issue the following commands in the shell (don't type $; that +
5.1 Easy Build and Install
+Issue the following commands in the shell (don't type $; that represents the shell's prompt):
-$ cd path/to/boost_1_43_0 +$ cd path/to/boost_1_43_0 $ ./bootstrap.sh --help-Select your configuration options and invoke ./bootstrap.sh again +
Select your configuration options and invoke ./bootstrap.sh again without the --help option. Unless you have write permission in -your system's /usr/local/ directory, you'll probably want to at +your system's /usr/local/ directory, you'll probably want to at least use
$ ./bootstrap.sh --prefix=path/to/installation/prefix @@ -278,15 +278,15 @@ long wait you'll experience if you build everything. Finally,$ ./bjam install-will leave Boost binaries in the lib/ subdirectory of your +
will leave Boost binaries in the lib/ subdirectory of your installation prefix. You will also find a copy of the Boost -headers in the include/ subdirectory of the installation -prefix, so you can henceforth use that directory as an #include +headers in the include/ subdirectory of the installation +prefix, so you can henceforth use that directory as an #include path in place of the Boost root directory.
-5.2 Or, Build Custom Binaries
+5.2 Or, Build Custom Binaries
If you're using a compiler other than your system's default, you'll need to use Boost.Build to create binaries.
You'll also @@ -302,22 +302,22 @@ separately. See the Boost.Build is a text-based system for developing, testing, and installing software. To use it, you'll need an executable called -bjam.
+bjam.-5.2.1 Get bjam
-bjam is the command-line tool that drives the Boost Build -system. To build Boost binaries, you'll invoke bjam from the +
5.2.1 Get bjam
+bjam is the command-line tool that drives the Boost Build +system. To build Boost binaries, you'll invoke bjam from the Boost root.
-We suggest you download a pre-built bjam executable for your platform. -Alternatively, you can build bjam yourself using these +
We suggest you download a pre-built bjam executable for your platform. +Alternatively, you can build bjam yourself using these instructions.
-Move the bjam executable into a directory in your PATH. You can +
Move the bjam executable into a directory in your PATH. You can see the list of directories in your PATH, separated by colons, -by typing “echo $PATH” at the command prompt.
+by typing “echo $PATH” at the command prompt.-5.2.2 Identify Your Toolset
+5.2.2 Identify Your Toolset
First, find the toolset corresponding to your compiler in the following table (an up-to-date list is always available in the Boost.Build documentation).
@@ -341,70 +341,70 @@ Name -acc +- acc Hewlett Packard Only very recent versions are known to work well with Boost borland +- borland Borland como +- como Comeau Computing Using this toolset may require configuring another toolset to act as its backend cw +- cw Metrowerks/Freescale The CodeWarrior compiler. We have not tested versions of this compiler produced since it was sold to Freescale. dmc +- dmc Digital Mars As of this Boost release, no version of dmc is known to handle Boost well. darwin +- darwin Apple Computer Apple's version of the GCC toolchain with support for Darwin and MacOS X features such as frameworks. gcc +- gcc The Gnu Project Includes support for Cygwin and MinGW compilers. hp_cxx +- hp_cxx Hewlett Packard Targeted at the Tru64 operating system. intel +- intel Intel msvc +- msvc Microsoft qcc +- qcc QNX Software Systems sun +- sun Sun Only very recent versions are known to work well with Boost. vacpp +@@ -416,17 +416,17 @@ a hyphen, e.g. intel-9.0borland-5.4.3. vacpp IBM The VisualAge C++ compiler. -5.2.3 Select a Build Directory
+5.2.3 Select a Build Directory
Boost.Build will place all intermediate files it generates while building into the build directory. If your Boost root directory is writable, this step isn't strictly necessary: by -default Boost.Build will create a bin.v2/ subdirectory for that +default Boost.Build will create a bin.v2/ subdirectory for that purpose in your current working directory.
-5.2.4 Invoke bjam
+5.2.4 Invoke bjam
Change your current directory to the Boost root directory and -invoke bjam as follows:
+invoke bjam as follows:bjam --build-dir=build-directory toolset=toolset-name stage@@ -434,23 +434,23 @@ bjam --build-dir=Boost.Build documentation.For example, your session might look like this:
-$ cd ~/boost_1_43_0 +$ cd ~/boost_1_43_0 $ bjam --build-dir=/tmp/build-boost toolset=gcc stage-That will build static and shared non-debug multi-threaded variants of the libraries. To build all variants, pass the additional option, “--build-type=complete”.
+That will build static and shared non-debug multi-threaded variants of the libraries. To build all variants, pass the additional option, “``--build-type=complete``”.
-Building the special stage target places Boost -library binaries in the stage/lib/ subdirectory of your build +
Building the special stage target places Boost +library binaries in the stage/lib/ subdirectory of your build directory.
Note
-bjam is case-sensitive; it is important that all the +
bjam is case-sensitive; it is important that all the parts shown in bold type above be entirely lower-case.
For a description of other options you can pass when invoking -bjam, type:
+bjam, type:bjam --help@@ -459,20 +459,20 @@ be interested in:
- reviewing the list of library names with --show-libraries
- limiting which libraries get built with the --with-library-name or --without-library-name options
-- choosing a specific build variant by adding release or -debug to the command line.
+- choosing a specific build variant by adding release or +debug to the command line.
Note
Boost.Build can produce a great deal of output, which can make it easy to miss problems. If you want to make sure everything is went well, you might redirect the output into a -file by appending “>build.log 2>&1” to your command line.
+file by appending “``>build.log 2>&1``” to your command line.-5.3 Expected Build Output
+5.3 Expected Build Output
During the process of building Boost libraries, you can expect to see some messages printed on the console. These may include
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ look something like:
-5.4 In Case of Build Errors
+5.4 In Case of Build Errors
The only error messages you see when building Boost—if any—should be related to the IOStreams library's support of zip and bzip2 formats as described here. Install the relevant development @@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ for your compiler to the -
6 Link Your Program to a Boost Library
+6 Link Your Program to a Boost Library
To demonstrate linking with a Boost binary library, we'll use the following simple program that extracts the subject lines from emails. It uses the Boost.Regex library, which has a @@ -549,21 +549,21 @@ project.
- -
You can specify the full path to each library:
-$ c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example \ +$ c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example \ ~/boost/stage/lib/libboost_regex-gcc34-mt-d-1_36.aYou can separately specify a directory to search (with -Ldirectory) and a library name to search for (with -llibrary,2 dropping the filename's leading lib and trailing -suffix (.a in this case):
+- @@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ automatically for you unless you pass a special option such as
You can separately specify a directory to search (with -Ldirectory) and a library name to search for (with -llibrary,2 dropping the filename's leading lib and trailing +suffix (.a in this case):
-$ c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example \ +$ c++ -I path/to/boost_1_43_0 example.cpp -o example \ -L~/boost/stage/lib/ -lboost_regex-gcc34-mt-d-1_36As you can see, this method is just as terse as method A for one library; it really pays off when you're using multiple libraries from the same directory. Note, however, that if you -use this method with a library that has both static (.a) and -dynamic (.so) builds, the system may choose one +use this method with a library that has both static (.a) and +dynamic (.so) builds, the system may choose one automatically for you unless you pass a special option such as -static on the command line.
In both cases above, the bold text is what you'd add to the command lines we explored earlier.
-6.1 Library Naming
+6.1 Library Naming
@@ -582,13 +582,13 @@ how it was built. For example, libboost_regex-vc71-mt-d-1_34.lib can be broken down into the following elements:-
- lib
+- lib
- Prefix: except on Microsoft Windows, every Boost library name begins with this string. On Windows, only ordinary static -libraries use the lib prefix; import libraries and DLLs do +libraries use the lib prefix; import libraries and DLLs do not.4
-- boost_regex
-- Library name: all boost library filenames begin with boost_.
+- boost_regex
+- Library name: all boost library filenames begin with boost_.
- -vc71
- Toolset tag: identifies the toolset and version used to build the binary.
@@ -604,34 +604,38 @@ feature, a single letter is added to the tag:@@ -646,12 +650,12 @@ ABI tag is ommitted.
- - + + + - Key Use this library when: +Boost.Build option s +- s linking statically to the C++ standard library and compiler runtime support libraries. +runtime-link=static g +- g using debug versions of the standard and runtime support libraries. +runtime-debugging=on y +- y using a special debug build of Python. +python-debugging=on d +- d building a debug version of your code.5 +variant=debug p +- p using the STLPort standard library rather than the default one supplied with your compiler. -n -using STLPort's deprecated “native iostreams” feature.6 +stdlib=stlport - Version tag: the full Boost release number, with periods replaced by underscores. For example, version 1.31.1 would be tagged as "-1_31_1".
-- .lib
+- .lib
- Extension: determined according to the operating system's usual convention. On most unix-style platforms the extensions are -.a and .so for static libraries (archives) and shared -libraries, respectively. On Windows, .dll indicates a shared -library and .lib indicates a +.a and .so for static libraries (archives) and shared +libraries, respectively. On Windows, .dll indicates a shared +library and .lib indicates a static or import library. Where supported by toolsets on unix variants, a full version extension is added (e.g. ".so.1.34") and a symbolic link to the library file, named without the trailing @@ -663,9 +667,9 @@ version number, will also be created.
-6.2 Test Your Program
+6.2 Test Your Program
To test our subject extraction, we'll filter the following text -file. Copy it out of your browser and save it as jayne.txt:
+file. Copy it out of your browser and save it as jayne.txt:To: George Shmidlap From: Rita Marlowe @@ -678,15 +682,15 @@ platform-specific settings so that the system will be able to find and load it when your program is run. Most platforms have an environment variable to which you can add the directory containing the library. On many platforms (Linux, FreeBSD) that variable is -LD_LIBRARY_PATH, but on MacOS it's DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH, and -on Cygwin it's simply PATH. In most shells other than csh -and tcsh, you can adjust the variable as follows (again, don't -type the $—that represents the shell prompt): +LD_LIBRARY_PATH, but on MacOS it's DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH, and +on Cygwin it's simply PATH. In most shells other than csh +and tcsh, you can adjust the variable as follows (again, don't +type the $—that represents the shell prompt):$ VARIABLE_NAME=path/to/lib/directory:${VARIABLE_NAME} $ export VARIABLE_NAME-On csh and tcsh, it's
+On csh and tcsh, it's
$ setenv VARIABLE_NAME path/to/lib/directory:${VARIABLE_NAME}@@ -703,7 +707,7 @@ Spoil Rock Hunter?”-7 Conclusion and Further Resources
+7 Conclusion and Further Resources
This concludes your introduction to Boost and to integrating it with your programs. As you start using Boost in earnest, there are surely a few additional points you'll wish we had covered. One day @@ -772,7 +776,7 @@ same name.
@@ -780,7 +784,7 @@ compiled code, you can't count on that with Boost libraries. [5] These libraries were compiled without optimization or inlining, with full debug symbols enabled, and without -NDEBUG #defined. Although it's true that sometimes +NDEBUG #defined. Although it's true that sometimes these choices don't affect binary compatibility with other compiled code, you can't count on that with Boost libraries.