boost/libs/phoenix/doc/preface.qbk

[/==============================================================================
    Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Joel de Guzman
    Copyright (C) 2001-2005 Dan Marsden
    Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Thomas Heller

    Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
    file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
===============================================================================/]

[/section Preface]
[h1 Preface]

[:['Functional programming is so called because a program consists entirely of
functions. The main program itself is written as a function which receives the
program's input as its argument and delivers the program's output as its result.
Typically the main function is defined in terms of other functions, which in
turn are defined in terms of still more functions until at the bottom level the
functions are language primitives.]]

[:*John Hughes*-- /Why Functional Programming Matters/]

[$images/lambda_cpp.png]

[h2 Description]

Phoenix enables Functional Programming (FP) in C++. The design and
implementation of Phoenix is highly influenced by __fcpp__ by Yannis Smaragdakis
and Brian McNamara and the __bll__ (Boost Lambda Library) by Jaakko Jaarvi and
Gary Powell. Phoenix is a blend of FC++ and BLL using the implementation
techniques used in the __spirit__ inline parser.

Phoenix is a header only library. It is extremely modular by design. One can
extract and use only a small subset of the full library, literally tearing the
library into small pieces, without fear that the pieces won't work anymore. The
library is organized in highly independent modules and layers.

[h2 How to use this manual]

The Phoenix library is organized in logical modules. This documentation
provides a user's guide and reference for each module in the library. A simple
and clear code example is worth a hundred lines of documentation; therefore, the
user's guide is presented with abundant examples annotated and explained in
step-wise manner. The user's guide is based on examples: lots of them.

As much as possible, forward information (i.e. citing a specific piece of
information that has not yet been discussed) is avoided in the user's manual
portion of each module. In many cases, though, it is unavoidable that advanced
but related topics not be interspersed with the normal flow of discussion. To
alleviate this problem, topics categorized as "advanced" may be skipped at first
reading.

Some icons are used to mark certain topics indicative of their relevance. These
icons precede some text to indicate:

[table Icons
    [[Icon]         [Name]          [Meaning]]
    [[__note__]     [Note]          [Information provided is auxiliary but will
                                     give the reader a deeper insight into a specific
                                     topic. May be skipped.]]
    [[__alert__]    [Alert]         [Information provided is of utmost importance.]]
    [[__tip__]      [Tip]           [A potentially useful and helpful piece of
                                     information.]]
]

[blurb __note__ Unless otherwise noted `using namespace boost::phoenix;` is assumed]

[h2 [*/...To Joel's dear daughter, Phoenix/]]

[/endsect]