For socket/thread programming: Boost or Posix, which is better?

If you want to write multi-thread programs or network programs in Unix, would you choose Boost::TR1 or posix's p_thread, socket functions?
Which is better? My another concern is that if I use boost too much and forget how to write a posix based program, will that be harmful to my future career as a system programmer?

Thanks.

Boost::TR1 doesn't offer threads or networking. You mean Boost.Threads and Boost.Asio.

Boost is far superior IMO, because it takes care of platform differences and boilerplate code, and because it offers a far more idiomatic interface than the C APIs of POSIX. Safer, too.

I find the notion that you might forget the POSIX APIs to a point where you can't re-learn them within a day quite absurd.

Thanks for your reply. I don't see anything absurd. Just like you may use mutex everyday, but you may not remember its assemble language counterpart.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CornedBee

Boost::TR1 doesn't offer threads or networking. You mean Boost.Threads and Boost.Asio.

Boost is far superior IMO, because it takes care of platform differences and boilerplate code, and because it offers a far more idiomatic interface than the C APIs of POSIX. Safer, too.

I find the notion that you might forget the POSIX APIs to a point where you can't re-learn them within a day quite absurd.

---

You may forget the exact order of the function parameters, but you do that all the time for various functions anyway. Just look them up in a reference.
What you won't forget is the general principles.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by meili100

If you want to write multi-thread programs or network programs in Unix, would you choose Boost::TR1 or posix's p_thread, socket functions?
Which is better? My another concern is that if I use boost too much and forget how to write a posix based program, will that be harmful to my future career as a system programmer?

Thanks.

---

"System programmers" are probably not using Boost, because they're probably not even using C++. But yes, not knowing the POSIX interfaces is a huge detriment to writing system code. Boost sockets are interesting but Boost is not available everywhere yet. And a lot of programming shops do not use it because of portability fears. So if all you know is Boost, then you will literally not be able to operate whatsoever in a lot of environments.

>> So if all you know is Boost, then you will literally not be able to operate whatsoever in a lot of environments.

Until you learn or remember the other stuff, which shouldn't be that hard especially if you've used it before.

Not using a new tool that is better for the current job because you're afraid of forgetting the old tool if you ever need it again makes little sense IMO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daved

>> So if all you know is Boost, then you will literally not be able to operate whatsoever in a lot of environments.

Until you learn or remember the other stuff, which shouldn't be that hard especially if you've used it before.

Not using a new tool that is better for the current job because you're afraid of forgetting the old tool if you ever need it again makes little sense IMO.

---

I didn't mean to imply the OP shouldn't learn Boost sockets. Just that I would not accept that as a substitute for knowledge of the POSIX standard. I don't have everything memorized either, but I remember the ideas.