website2022/users/faq.html

---
title: Boost FAQ
copyright: Beman Dawes 2001.
revised: 
---


Boost FAQ



Boost FAQ
=========

How do I download the
 libraries? See the [downloads](download).


What do the Boost
 version numbers mean? The scheme is x.y.z, where x is
 incremented only for massive changes, such as a reorganization
 of many libraries, y is incremented whenever a new library is
 added, and z is incremented for maintenance releases. y and z
 are reset to 0 if the value to the left changes.


Is there any
 assurance libraries actually work as claimed? No. The
 review process will hopefully eliminate the most seriously
 flawed libraries, but a well constructed library with hidden
 defects is likely to slip through. Encouraging ordinary users
 to report their experience with a library is intended to
 address such concerns. Consult the [test results](../development/testing.html) for an
 indication of how well a library works on specific
 platforms.


How can the Boost
 libraries be used successfully for important projects?
 Many of the Boost libraries are actively maintained and
 improved, so backward compatibility with prior version isn't
 always possible. Deal with this by freezing the version of the
 Boost libraries used by your project. Only upgrade at points in
 your project's life cycle where a bit of change will not cause
 problems. Individual bug fixes can always be obtained from the
 boost repository.


How can I contribute
 to development? To participate in development, you need
 to subscribe to the [Boost
 developers' list](https://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost). Once you've done that, some paths to
 contribution are:


1. Submit patches for new features or bug fixes. Pick any
 ticket from [our bug
 tracking system](https://github.com/boostorg/) on GitHub and get started. If existing
 library maintainers don't already know your work, this is
 a good way to become known as someone they can trust to
 do good work.
2. Become part of a particular library's community, and
 become known to the library maintainer(s) by participating in
 design discussions (some libraries, e.g. Spirit, have their
 [own mailing
 lists](/community/groups.html#projects) where you'd do that).
3. Become a library maintainer through the 
 [Boost
 Library Official Maintainer Program](/community/official_library_maintainer_program.html) or as member of the
 [Boost Community Maintenance Team](https://svn.boost.org/trac10/wiki/CommunityMaintenance) (CMT). To start, triage
 existing issues and pull requests to make a list of all the ones
 that seem trivial enough to begin with. Work on the issues in your
 fork of the library and submit pull requests when ready. Make sure
 the CI coverage is in place and the CI builds and tests pass. Then,
 [contact the CMT](https://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost-maint) requesting to review and merge your pull requests.
 At some point, you will be granted a write access to repository
 of the library.
4. Come up with a library idea of your own and begin the
 [library submission
 process](/development/submissions.html).


How is a library
 accepted for posting on the site? See [Library Submission
 Process](/development/submissions.html)


How does someone
 submit a Formal Review comment? Send email to [boost@lists.boost.org](mailto:boost@lists.boost.org). See
 the [Formal Review](/community/reviews.html) page
 for more information.


How does someone
 submit a library? See [Library Guidelines](/development/requirements.html)


Are commercial
 libraries requiring a fee acceptable? No. However, a
 library that a commercial enterprise makes available without
 fee is acceptable. If the description of the library makes a
 low-key plug for the supplier, that is acceptable as long as
 the library delivers real value and isn't just a Trojan horse
 for the plug.


Are shareware
 libraries acceptable? No. Only free libraries will be
 accepted.


Are open source
 license libraries acceptable? Some are, many are not.
 Open source licenses often require redistribution or
 availability of source code, inclusion of license document with
 machine-executable redistribution, give the initial developer
 rights to licensee modifications, or need a lawyer to
 understand. Boost aims to
 avoid subjecting users to hard-to-comply-with license terms.
 See [License
 requirements](/development/requirements.html#License).


This is subject to review for a particularly
 important piece of software, or as the industry changes.


Must full source code
 be provided? Yes, these are source code libraries.


What about
 documentation? A very simple library might be accepted
 with only a well commented header file. For more substantial
 libraries, some form of documentation is certainly going to be
 expected. HTML is the preferred form.


Are platform specific
 libraries acceptable? There is a preference for portable
 libraries. Libraries will be accepted that have portable
 interfaces but require platform specific implementations, as
 long as the author supplies implementations for a couple of
 disparate major operating systems.


Must a library do
 useful work? No. A library meant as a teaching example
 or demonstration might not actually do any work.


Can an existing
 library be accepted by Boost? Yes, although it would
 have to be "Boostified" to meet the requirements.  The
 Boost Graph and Regex libraries are examples of libraries which
 began life elsewhere.


Who owns the
 libraries? Presumably many authors will copyright their
 libraries. Others authors may wish to place their libraries in
 the public domain. The Boost.org policy is to only accept
 libraries with a clear copyright notice and meeting the
 [License
 requirements](/development/requirements.html#License). It is up to potential users to decide if the
 terms acceptable, and not to use libraries with unacceptable
 copyrights or licenses.


Is there a formal
 relationship between Boost.org and the C++ Standards
 Committee? No, although there is a strong informal
 relationship in that many members of the committee participate
 in Boost, and the people who started Boost were all committee
 members.


Will the Boost.org
 libraries become part of the next C++ Standard? Some
 might, someday, but that is up to the standards committee.
 Committee members who also participate in Boost will definitely
 be proposing at least some Boost libraries for
 standardization.


Libraries which are "existing practice" are most
 likely to be accepted by the C++ committee for future
 standardization. Having a library accepted by Boost is one way
 to establish existing practice.


Where does the name
 "Boost" come from? Boost began with Robert Klarer and I
 fantasizing about a new library effort over dinner at a C++
 committee meeting in Sofia Antipolis, France, in 1998. Robert
 mentioned that Herb Sutter was working on a spoof proposal for
 a new language named Booze, which was supposed to be better
 than Java. Somehow that kicked off the idea of "Boost" as a
 name. We'd probably had a couple of glasses of good French wine
 at that point. It was just a working name, but no one ever came
 up with a replacement. (Beman Dawes)


Is the web site a
 commercial business? No. The Boost Foundation is
 incorporated as a nonprofit corporation, with a pending
 application for 503(c)(3) tax exempt status.


Is there any charge
 for submitting libraries or reviews to Boost.org? No.
 Unlike the standards committees, you don't have to pay to
 volunteer!


Will the site include
 material beyond libraries? The main focus is on
 libraries, but if people contribute occasional articles or
 other material to make the site more interesting, that could be
 a nice fit.


Why isn't there a
 separate boost mailing list for my favorite library? One
 of the reasons for boost's success has been the
 cross-pollination of ideas between diverse library projects and
 the occasional look into other threads by otherwise
 uninterested parties. The more people participate, the less
 they tend to be annoyed by "noise".


How can I cope with
 the large volume of boost mailing list messages? One
 approach is to use the "digest" option; that cuts the email
 blizzard down to several (long) messages per day, so you can
 glance over the subjects summary at the top and quickly read
 what you think is important. The "no mail" option turns off
 list email entirely.


Another approach is to follow the list traffic
 via an NTTP newsgroup reader. See [Mailing List](/community/groups.html#newsgroup) newsgroup
 information.


Why do Boost headers
 have a .hpp suffix rather than .h or none at all? File
 extensions communicate the "type" of the file, both to humans
 and to computer programs. The '.h' extension is used for C
 header files, and therefore communicates the wrong thing about
 C++ header files. Using no extension communicates nothing and
 forces inspection of file contents to determine type. Using
 '.hpp' unambiguously identifies it as C++ header file, and
 works well in actual practice. (Rainer Deyke)


What should I do if I
 spot a bug in the Boost code or documentation? See the
 suggestions on the [Bugs
 page](/development/bugs.html).


How can I request a
 new feature in a Boost Library? See the [Requesting New Features](/community/requests.html)
 page.


Who's idea was
 Boost? See the [original
 proposal](proposal.pdf) (PDF).