What is Boost
Boost is a set of free, open-source, peer-reviewed C++ libraries that extend the standard library
History and Philosophy
Boost was born in 1998, the same year the first ISO C++ standard (C++98) was ratified. That timing is
Installing Boost
There is no single "install Boost" button, and that is mostly fine: because the majority of Boost is
Header-only vs Compiled
One of the first practical questions every Boost user hits is: do I need to link anything? The answer
Boost and the Standard
If boost::sharedptr look almost identical, that is because one is the ancestor
Versioning and Releases
Boost ships as one coordinated release with one version number, even though it is really ~160