Boost (C++ libraries)

Boost is a set of <a href="/facts/Library_(computing)/xRzL3P7q">libraries</a> for the <a href="/facts/C%252B%252B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a> programming language that provides support for tasks and structures such as <a href="/facts/Linear_algebra/8VaB4VWk">linear algebra</a>, <a href="/facts/Pseudorandom_number_generator/sIrCxIBq">pseudorandom number generation</a>, multithreading, <a href="/facts/Image_processing/zenalNCf">image processing</a>, <a href="/facts/Regular_expression/KFL3veHX">regular expressions</a>, and <a href="/facts/Unit_testing/SYoGGS3T">unit testing</a>. It contains 164 individual libraries (as of version 1.76).
All of the Boost libraries are <a href="/facts/Software_license/7enfIqhL">licensed</a> under the Boost Software License, designed to allow Boost to be used with both <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free</a> and <a href="/facts/Proprietary_software/9zcskxYL">proprietary software</a> projects. Many of Boost's founders are on the <a href="/facts/ISO%2fIEC_14882/Et0F2qn9">C++ standards</a> committee, and several Boost libraries have been accepted for incorporation into the <a href="/facts/C%252B%252B_Technical_Report_1/QFzEy2KP">C++ Technical Report 1</a>, the <a href="/facts/C%252B%252B11/fI3YCoKQ">C++11</a> standard (e.g. smart pointers, thread, regex, random, ratio, tuple) and the <a href="/facts/C%252B%252B17/B3gKNeER">C++17</a> standard (e.g. filesystem, any, optional, variant, string_view).
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.

Boost (C++ libraries) open-in-new

Boost (C++ libraries)