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<h1 align="center">Boost Pool Library</h1>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<h3>What is Pool?</h3>
<p>Pool allocation is a memory allocation scheme that is very fast, but
limited in its usage. For more information on pool allocation (also called
"simple segregated storage"), see <a href="concepts.html">the concepts
document</a>.</p>
<h3>Why should I use Pool?</h3>
<p>Using Pools gives you more control over how memory is used in your
program. For example, you could have a situation where you want to allocate
a bunch of small objects at one point, and then reach a point in your
program where none of them are needed any more. Using pool interfaces, you
can choose to run their destructors or just drop them off into oblivion; the
pool interface will guarantee that there are no system memory leaks.</p>
<h3>When should I use Pool?</h3>
<p>Pools are generally used when there is a lot of allocation and
deallocation of small objects. Another common usage is the situation above,
where many objects may be dropped out of memory.</p>
<p>In general, use Pools when you need a more efficient way to do unusual
memory control.</p>
<h3>How do I use Pool?</h3>
<p>See the <a href="interfaces.html">pool interfaces document</a>, which
covers the different Pool interfaces supplied by this library.</p>
<h2>Library Structure and Dependencies</h2>
<p>Forward declarations of all the exposed symbols for this library are in
the header <span class="code"><boost/pool/poolfwd.hpp></span>.</p>
<p>The library may use macros, which will be prefixed with <span class=
"code">BOOST_POOL_</span>. The exception to this rule are the include file
guards, which (for file <em>xxx</em>.hpp) is <span class=
"code">BOOST_<em>xxx</em>_HPP</span>.</p>
<p>All exposed symbols defined by the library will be in namespace
<span class="code">boost</span>. All symbols used only by the implementation
will be in namespace <span class=
"code">boost::details::pool</span>.</p>
<p>Every header used only by the implementation is in the subdirectory
<span class="code">detail/</span>.</p>
<p>Any header in the library may include any other header in the library or
any system-supplied header at its discretion.</p>
<h2>Installation</h2>
<p>The Boost Pool library is a header file library. That means there is no
.lib, .dll, or .so to build; just add the Boost directory to your compiler's
include file path, and you should be good to go!</p>
<h2>Building the Test Programs</h2>
<p>The subdirectory "build" contains subdirectories for several different
platforms. These subdirectories contain all necessary work-around code for
that platform, as well as makefiles or IDE project files as appropriate.</p>
<p>Read the "readme.txt" in the proper subdirectory, if it exists.</p>
<p>The standard makefile targets are "all", "clean" (which deletes any
intermediate files), and "veryclean" (which deletes any intermediate files
and executables). All intermediate and executable files are built in the
same directory as the makefile/project file. If there is a project file
supplied instead of a makefile, "clean" and "veryclean" shell scripts/batch
files will be provided.</p>
<p>Project files and makefiles for additional platforms may be sent to
Stephen Cleary at scleary AT jerviswebb DOT com.</p>
<h2>Documentation Map</h2>
<ul>
<li>Overview of Pooling
<ul>
<li><a href="concepts.html">concepts.html</a> - The basic ideas behind
pooling.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/alignment.html">implementation/alignment.html</a> -
How we guarantee alignment portably.</li>
<li><a href="interfaces.html">interfaces.html</a> - What interfaces
are provided and when to use each one.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pool Exposed Interfaces
<ul>
<li><a href=
"interfaces/simple_segregated_storage.html">
interfaces/simple_segregated_storage.html</a>
- Not for the faint of heart; embedded programmers only.</li>
<li><a href="interfaces/pool.html">interfaces/pool.html</a> - The
basic pool interface.</li>
<li><a href=
"interfaces/singleton_pool.html">interfaces/singleton_pool.html</a> -
The basic pool interface as a thread-safe singleton.</li>
<li><a href=
"interfaces/object_pool.html">interfaces/object_pool.html</a> - A
type-oriented (instead of size-oriented) pool interface.</li>
<li><a href=
"interfaces/pool_alloc.html">interfaces/pool_alloc.html</a> - A
Standard Allocator pool interface based on singleton_pool.</li>
<li><a href=
"interfaces/user_allocator.html">interfaces/user_allocator.html</a> -
OK, not a pool interface, but it describes how the user can control
how Pools allocate system memory.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pool Implementation Details and Extensions
<ul>
<li>Interface Implementations and Extensions
<ul>
<li><a href=
"implementation/simple_segregated_storage.html">
implementation/simple_segregated_storage.html</a></li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/pool.html">implementation/pool.html</a></li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/singleton_pool.html">
implementation/singleton_pool.html</a></li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/object_pool.html">implementation/object_pool.html</a></li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/pool_alloc.html">implementation/pool_alloc.html</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Components Used Only by the Implementation
<ul>
<li><a href=
"implementation/ct_gcd_lcm.html">implementation/ct_gcd_lcm.html</a>
- Compile-time GCD and LCM.</li>
<li><a href="implementation/for.html">implementation/for.html</a>
- Description of an m4 component.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/gcd_lcm.html">implementation/gcd_lcm.html</a> -
Run-time GCD and LCM.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/guard.html">implementation/guard.html</a> - Auto
lock/unlock for mutex.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/mutex.html">implementation/mutex.html</a> -
Platform-dependent mutex type.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/pool_construct.html">
implementation/pool_construct.html</a>
- The system for supporting more constructor arguments in
object_pool.</li>
<li><a href=
"implementation/singleton.html">implementation/singleton.html</a>
- Singleton that avoids static initialization problem.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Future Directions</h2>
<p>Another pool interface will be written: a base class for per-class pool
allocation.</p>
<h2>Acknowledgements</h2>
<p>Many, many thanks to the Boost peers, notably Jeff Garland, Beman Dawes,
Ed Brey, Gary Powell, Peter Dimov, and Jens Maurer for providing helpful
suggestions!</p>
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<p>Revised
<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" s-type="EDITED" s-format="%d %B, %Y" startspan -->05 December, 2006<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="38516" --></p>
<p><i>Copyright © 2000, 2001 Stephen Cleary (scleary AT jerviswebb DOT com)</i></p>
<p><i>Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See
accompanying file <a href="../../../LICENSE_1_0.txt">LICENSE_1_0.txt</a> or
copy at <a href=
"http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)</i></p>
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