= GEOS RFC 6: Require explicit configure to use the C++ API = ||RFC 6: ||Discourage use of C++ API by requiring a configure switch to install the c++ headers and SDK|| ||Author: ||Regina Obe || ||Contact:||lr@pcorp.us || ||Status: ||[https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2017-October/thread.html#8050 In Discussion] || Past discussions [https://trac.osgeo.org/geos/ticket/553 Trac ticket to deprecate] [https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2017-January/007652.html another request to deprecate and osm2pgsql mess] [https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2012-June/005861.html more examples about how apps linking directly to GEOS C++ causing problems for other applications] [https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2017-January/007653.html Pointing out removing ability to use GEOS C++ reduces users freedoms] This document proposes to change the ./configure and CMake to by default only allow use of the C-API. The C++ API headers and library will only be installed if explicitly asked for as detailed in [https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2017-October/008054.html] Any developers who want to use the C++ API will have to build with {{{ #autoconf users ./configure --with-cplusplus-sdk-install #cmake users cmake -DINSTALL_CPLUSPLUS_SDK }}} If cplusplus sdk install is not expressly requested only the C library (not linked just a single library will be created). Also the C++ headers will not installed. If users choose to build with the cplusplus-sdk, a warning will be shown before start of compile stating: {{{ The GEOS project does not guarantee ABI stability of the C++ API during minor updates. This means your code may need recompilation or changes to upgrade to next minor version of GEOS. If you want ABI stability from minor version to minor version, you should use the C-API instead. }}} As proposed in [https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geos-devel/2017-October/008071.html] I propose doing this in GEOS 3.7.0. The main purpose is to discourage the use of the C++ API because we do not have the manpower to guarantee ABI compatiblity from version to version and thus using it in an environment where the GEOS library is shared across many software is unsupported. Currently [https://github.com/openstreetmap/osm2pgsql/issues/634 osm2pgsql (which is switching away from GEOS and using Osmium instead)] (and before Osmium, which switched from using GEOS and now uses GDAL) and OSSIM are the only ones that used the GEOS C++ API and largely distributed in shared environment. We want to discourage future projects that plan to be used in a shared environment from using the GEOS C++ API and to stick with the GEOS C API. So the purpose of the above is to affect the following change: 1) Package Distributions willnot compile with these flags 2) The end effect being, no C++ header, no C++ library to worry about -- just a single .so or .dll and a C header file 3) People building their own binaries or their own projects that utilize the C++ API will not be able to use GEOS from packages since GEOS packages will not have the C++ API bindings they need. They will have to compile their own GEOS. This means if they want their product to be shipped with other distributed software and share the same GEOS, they will need to use the C-API. That way new projects will be clear about what compromise they are making using the C++ API.