boost::bind

I have been using a variant of the boost::bind framework for years now, and it is easily one of my favorite.  In short, it creates a function object that can contains associated (and optional) values for its arguments.  That is, the end result can be a nullary function object in which all parameters values are already provided, or optional parameters rerouting parameters to any position.

boost::bimap

The boost::bimap framework offers a bi-directional version of the STL map container.  That is, both members of its pair elements can be used as a key to access its counterpart.

boost::assign

The boost:assign framework is a collection of utilities to facilitate standard (STL) containers addition of data.  I will try to brush an overview of its most important features.

boost::asio

Asio is the first BIG boost framework I encountered.  The documentation reading was fantastic, which I supplemented with some googling.  In short, Asio seems to be considered one of the very best communication library around, and it’s easy to see why.

boost::array

This is another easy Boost class to tackle.  The C++ STL provides a plethora of specialized collection containers, all of them respecting a strict access interface that let them interact with common algorithms.  The problem is, there’s no direct substitute to the plain old, static C array.  The closest STL relative would be the std::vector, but it is implemented to allow dynamic sizing, which means some overhead unnecessary to handle plain statically sized arrays.

boost::any

Now this is a simple and straightforward one.  Many scripting languages have untyped variables, in which you can places values of any kinds.  C++ being a strongly typed language doesn’t have that feature naturally. But Boost brings a simple solution.