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  25. <div class="section">
  26. <div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
  27. <a name="spirit_repository.preface"></a><a class="link" href="preface.html" title="Preface">Preface</a>
  28. </h2></div></div></div>
  29. <h4>
  30. <a name="spirit_repository.preface.h0"></a>
  31. <span class="phrase"><a name="spirit_repository.preface.the_spirit_repository"></a></span><a class="link" href="preface.html#spirit_repository.preface.the_spirit_repository">The
  32. Spirit Repository</a>
  33. </h4>
  34. <p>
  35. The <a href="http://boost-spirit.com" target="_top">Spirit</a> repository is a community
  36. effort collecting different reusable components (primitives, directives, grammars,
  37. etc.) for <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit.Qi</em></span> parsers and <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit.Karma</em></span>
  38. generators. All components in the repository have been peer reviewed and/or
  39. discussed on the <a href="http://boost.2283326.n4.nabble.com/spirit-general-f2672582.html" target="_top">Spirit
  40. General List</a>. The aim is to broaden the scope of the <a href="http://boost-spirit.com" target="_top">Spirit</a>
  41. library while being able to maintain its high standards in terms of code quality,
  42. flexibility, and maintainability. At the same time it encourages people to
  43. contribute even small components as it lessens the hurdle of becoming a <a href="http://www.boost.org/" target="_top">Boost</a> and <a href="http://boost-spirit.com" target="_top">Spirit</a>
  44. author.
  45. </p>
  46. <p>
  47. Maintainability of the code and author commitment over a longer period of time
  48. are crucial for <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit's</em></span> success (as it is for the whole
  49. <a href="http://www.boost.org/" target="_top">Boost</a> project). That allows the
  50. repository to play an additional role in terms of being a proving ground for
  51. interested authors. It is a lot easier to remove code from the repository than
  52. from the <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit</em></span> core library. So if an author can't maintain
  53. his/her contribution anymore for any reason, we are able to remove those parts
  54. from the repository more easily.
  55. </p>
  56. <p>
  57. The repository is an excellent way of evolving things. The <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit</em></span>
  58. core has been developed for years, so we have a certain confidence of it being
  59. properly designed and exposing a proven API. On the other hand, new ideas often
  60. need some time to 'come to the point'. Changing API's is part of this business.
  61. At the same time changing API's always mean user disruption, which we want
  62. to keep to a minimum. Again, changing things in the repository is ought to
  63. be a lot easier than in the core library.
  64. </p>
  65. <p>
  66. The quality of contributions is another key to success. That includes not only
  67. the code itself, but takes into consideration such things as documentation,
  68. tests, examples. The authors activity on the mailing list is related as well,
  69. it's an important point. Only well supported things will evolve over time into
  70. usable, high quality components. The mandatory discussions and the review of
  71. contributions on the <a href="http://boost.2283326.n4.nabble.com/spirit-general-f2672582.html" target="_top">Spirit
  72. General List</a> ensure the targeted high quality standards.
  73. </p>
  74. <p>
  75. Based on the user feedback and general usability of things it is possible over
  76. time to move repository components/grammars into the <span class="emphasis"><em>Spirit</em></span>
  77. core library.
  78. </p>
  79. <h4>
  80. <a name="spirit_repository.preface.h1"></a>
  81. <span class="phrase"><a name="spirit_repository.preface.how_to_use_this_manual"></a></span><a class="link" href="preface.html#spirit_repository.preface.how_to_use_this_manual">How
  82. to use this manual</a>
  83. </h4>
  84. <p>
  85. Some icons are used to mark certain topics indicative of their relevance. These
  86. icons precede some text to indicate:
  87. </p>
  88. <div class="table">
  89. <a name="spirit_repository.preface.t0"></a><p class="title"><b>Table&#160;1.&#160;Icons</b></p>
  90. <div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Icons">
  91. <colgroup>
  92. <col>
  93. <col>
  94. <col>
  95. </colgroup>
  96. <thead><tr>
  97. <th>
  98. <p>
  99. Icon
  100. </p>
  101. </th>
  102. <th>
  103. <p>
  104. Name
  105. </p>
  106. </th>
  107. <th>
  108. <p>
  109. Meaning
  110. </p>
  111. </th>
  112. </tr></thead>
  113. <tbody>
  114. <tr>
  115. <td>
  116. <p>
  117. <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="../images/note.png" alt="note"></span>
  118. </p>
  119. </td>
  120. <td>
  121. <p>
  122. Note
  123. </p>
  124. </td>
  125. <td>
  126. <p>
  127. Generally useful information (an aside that doesn't fit in the flow
  128. of the text)
  129. </p>
  130. </td>
  131. </tr>
  132. <tr>
  133. <td>
  134. <p>
  135. <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="../images/tip.png" alt="tip"></span>
  136. </p>
  137. </td>
  138. <td>
  139. <p>
  140. Tip
  141. </p>
  142. </td>
  143. <td>
  144. <p>
  145. Suggestion on how to do something (especially something that not
  146. be obvious)
  147. </p>
  148. </td>
  149. </tr>
  150. <tr>
  151. <td>
  152. <p>
  153. <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="../images/important.png" alt="important"></span>
  154. </p>
  155. </td>
  156. <td>
  157. <p>
  158. Important
  159. </p>
  160. </td>
  161. <td>
  162. <p>
  163. Important note on something to take particular notice of
  164. </p>
  165. </td>
  166. </tr>
  167. <tr>
  168. <td>
  169. <p>
  170. <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="../images/caution.png" alt="caution"></span>
  171. </p>
  172. </td>
  173. <td>
  174. <p>
  175. Caution
  176. </p>
  177. </td>
  178. <td>
  179. <p>
  180. Take special care with this - it may not be what you expect and may
  181. cause bad results
  182. </p>
  183. </td>
  184. </tr>
  185. <tr>
  186. <td>
  187. <p>
  188. <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="../images/alert.png" alt="alert"></span>
  189. </p>
  190. </td>
  191. <td>
  192. <p>
  193. Danger
  194. </p>
  195. </td>
  196. <td>
  197. <p>
  198. This is likely to cause serious trouble if ignored
  199. </p>
  200. </td>
  201. </tr>
  202. </tbody>
  203. </table></div>
  204. </div>
  205. <br class="table-break"><p>
  206. This documentation is automatically generated by Boost QuickBook documentation
  207. tool. QuickBook can be found in the <a href="http://www.boost.org/tools/index.html" target="_top">Boost
  208. Tools</a>.
  209. </p>
  210. <h4>
  211. <a name="spirit_repository.preface.h2"></a>
  212. <span class="phrase"><a name="spirit_repository.preface.support"></a></span><a class="link" href="preface.html#spirit_repository.preface.support">Support</a>
  213. </h4>
  214. <p>
  215. Please direct all questions to Spirit's mailing list. You can subscribe to
  216. the <a href="http://boost.2283326.n4.nabble.com/spirit-general-f2672582.html" target="_top">Spirit
  217. General List</a>. The mailing list has a searchable archive. A search link
  218. to this archive is provided in <a href="http://boost-spirit.com" target="_top">Spirit</a>'s
  219. home page. You may also read and post messages to the mailing list through
  220. <a href="news://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.spirit.general" target="_top">Spirit General
  221. NNTP news portal</a> (thanks to <a href="http://www.gmane.org" target="_top">Gmane</a>).
  222. The news group mirrors the mailing list. Here is a link to the archives: <a href="http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.parsers.spirit.general" target="_top">http://news.gmane.org/gmane.comp.parsers.spirit.general</a>.
  223. </p>
  224. </div>
  225. <table xmlns:rev="http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~gregod/boost/tools/doc/revision" width="100%"><tr>
  226. <td align="left"></td>
  227. <td align="right"><div class="copyright-footer">Copyright &#169; 2001-2011 Joel de Guzman, Hartmut Kaiser<p>
  228. Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
  229. file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at <a href="http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt" target="_top">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)
  230. </p>
  231. </div></td>
  232. </tr></table>
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