Boost is a set of libraries for the C++ programming language that provides support for tasks and structures such as linear algebra, pseudorandom number generation, multithreading, image processing, regular expressions, and unit testing. It contains 164 individual libraries (as of version 1.76).[3]
All of the Boost libraries are licensed under the Boost Software License, designed to allow Boost to be used with both free and proprietary software projects.[4] Many of Boost's founders are on the C++ standards committee, and several Boost libraries have been accepted for incorporation into the C++ Technical Report 1, the C++11 standard (e.g. smart pointers, thread, regex, random, ratio, tuple)[5][6] and the C++17 standard (e.g. filesystem, any, optional, variant, string_view).[7]
The Boost community emerged around 1998, when the first version of the standard was released. It has grown continuously since then and now plays a big role in the standardization of C++. Even though there is no formal relationship between the Boost community and the standardization committee, some of the developers are active in both groups.
The libraries are aimed at a wide range of C++ users and application domains. They range from general-purpose libraries like the smart pointer library, to operating system abstractions like Boost FileSystem, to libraries primarily aimed at other library developers and advanced C++ users, like the template metaprogramming (MPL) and domain-specific language (DSL) creation (Proto).
In order to ensure efficiency and flexibility, Boost makes extensive use of templates. Boost has been a source of extensive work and research into generic programming and metaprogramming in C++.[8]
Most Boost libraries are header based, consisting of inline functions and templates, and as such do not need to be built in advance of their use. Some Boost libraries coexist as independent libraries.[9][10]
Los fundadores originales de Boost que todavía están activos en la comunidad incluyen a David Abrahams . Nicolai Josuttis, autor de varios libros sobre C++, contribuyó a la biblioteca de matrices Boost en 2001. Hay listas de correo dedicadas al uso y desarrollo de la biblioteca Boost, activas a partir de 2023 [actualizar]. [11]
Boost tiene su propia licencia gratuita de código abierto , conocida como Licencia de software Boost. [13] Es una licencia permisiva al estilo de la licencia BSD y la licencia MIT , pero sin requerir atribución para su redistribución en forma binaria . [14] La licencia ha sido aprobada por OSI desde febrero de 2008 [15] [16] y es considerada una licencia de software libre , compatible con la Licencia Pública General GNU , por la Free Software Foundation . [12]