What are boost libraries

[c2tarun]

hi friends,
Can anyone please tell me about boost libraries?
I tried to google it but could not understand is use.

[talonmies]

Boost is a collection of extensions to the C++ standard libraries that provide a lot of additional functionality not currently in the C++ standard - container types, algorithms, portable sockets and other network facility, portable threading, and portable filesystem access, to name but a few.

Most, but not quite all, boost libraries are implemented using C++ templating, so there mostly no external linkage necessary to use Boost.

[dwhitney67]

... but could not understand is use.

Boost is definitely not something that a beginner (novice) C++ programmer will need, much less understand. There are many facets of Boost that I have never used, and probably never will, for lack of a need and/or because I don't understand the poor documentation either.

Some of the features of Boost will be adopted into the C++ standard (C++0x) that is due out sometime during our lifetime (perhaps 2011?). Hopefully by then there will be ample documentation and examples.

[nvteighen]

Boost predates the (current) C++ '98 Standard, so it includes features that now may seem somewhat useless... but this is because this library was written with a language in mind that's not exactly how C++ looks like now.

As dwhitney67 said, most of the Boost library won't be very useful for a beginner, so don't worry too much. It has some advantages, like e.g. the fact that it's template-based makes the library be very portable (but very slow to compile "against"...).