Changes between Version 17 and Version 18 of AlternativeSelection

Timestamp:

Mar 28, 2007, 9:03:21 PM (19 years ago)

Author:

Dave Abrahams

Comment:

--

AlternativeSelection

@@ -107 +107 @@
   {{{bjam gcc-3.3.6_linux gcc-3.4.5_linux/python=2.4 gcc-4.0.2_linux/python=2.4}}} ''etc...''
 
-This is not only inconvenient, but counterintuitive and uses a syntax that is not widely known (is it even documented?)
+This is not only inconvenient, but counterintuitive and uses a syntax that is not widely known (is it even documented?).  Under my proposal, the intended version of Python would've been selected. 
 
 == Details of Proposed Semantics ==
@@ -166 +166 @@
 bjam toolset=gcc-3.4.5/debug-symbols=on toolset=intel/optimization=off
 }}}
+
+== Summary ==
+
+This proposal would make several problematic cases into non-problems, would make the handling of multiple alternatives more uniform with the handling of "single alternatives," would make the syntax/semantics of specifying conditions for alternatives more consistent with that of build requests, and would make some currently-"ambiguous" bjam invocations into well-defined commands.  
+Admittedly, it would change the semantics of a common class of configurations when combined with what appears to be an uncommon class of bjam invocations.  So far, we don't have a use case for the current semantics that isn't equally well-covered by this proposal.  However, should we find such a use case, the "optional extension" detailed here would allow us to recover the current semantics (with a different syntax, of course).
+