I've seen some c++ programmers swear by the boost library, and some twitch when I mention boost. However, boost contains a whole slew of useful functions and tools to employ when encountering common c++ related issues. For the record, is the boost library a good thing, or something to stay away from programming professionally.

closed as primarily opinion-based by Jerry Coffin, Mark Ransom, Hans Passant, user743382, JustSid Sep 19 '14 at 21:15


  • Some parts of the C++ standard were first implemented by boost. – Mark Ransom Sep 19 '14 at 21:13
  • A lot of professional code uses Boost. – template boy Sep 19 '14 at 21:13
  • Yes, it's either a good thing, or should be stayed away from. Seriously, it's up to you to weigh the good and bad points and decide whether it makes sense for your purposes. – Jerry Coffin Sep 19 '14 at 21:13
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    This question is too opinionated for SO. It may be a design question that could be re-worked and asked over at programmers.stackexchange.com. For the record, I have used boost a ton, much of it is good but I am moving away from it since starting work in C++11/14 – Benjamin Trent Sep 19 '14 at 21:14
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    @InfinityMachine Incidentally, that doesn't make the question useful, let alone a good match for this site. – sehe Sep 19 '14 at 22:14

The boost library is very useful for many people, and provides a lot of functionality.

As to whether it is the right tool for the job is dependent on the project, and the programmer, and is very a subjective question to answer.

There is no correct answer to this question. Boost is neither intrinsically good or bad.
