alandefreitas / boostdep_graph

Graph generated from boostdep

Boost Dependency Graph

This is a small application that generates a visual representation of the internal Boost dependencies.

The complete report is available on https://alandefreitas.github.io/boostdep_graph/

Quickstart

Clone the boost super-project:

git clone https://github.com/boostorg/boost.git -b develop boost
cd boost
git submodule update --init --recursive

If you don't have b2, execute

.\bootstrap

Install boostdep:

b2 tools/boostdep/build

Generate the graph:

python main.py --boost-root /path/to/boost --boostdep boostdep

Output format

By default, the application will generate the dependency overview. You can save your results to an html file instead with the --output html option.

python main.py --boost-root /path/to/boost --boostdep boostdep --output html

To highlight the dependencies for a list of libraries, use the --libs option:

python main.py --boost-root /path/to/boost --boostdep boostdep --libs url

The report output format will generate the overview, one page for each library, and create links:

python main.py --boost-root /path/to/boost --boostdep boostdep --output report

Interpreting the graph

Many aspect of the library are represented in the network graph:

• Axes
  • The x-axis represents the dependency level of each library
  • The y-axis represents the number of libraries at each level
• Vertices
  • The vertex size is proportional to how many other modules depend on it
  • The vertex colors represent the minimum C++ standard supported by a library
  • The vertex symbol:
    • Circle: default
    • Diamond: there are partial alternatives to this library in the C++ standard library
      • Note that almost no library can be completely replaced by its std counterpart
    • Pentagon: patched modules / proposals
  • Vertex border:
    • Orange: direct dependencies
    • Light orange: transitive dependencies
    • Blue: direct reverse dependencies
    • Light blue: transitive reverse dependencies
    • Dark green: modules in the same category
• Edge colors:
  • Orange: direct dependencies
  • Light orange: transitive dependencies
  • Blue: direct reverse dependencies
  • Light blue: transitive reverse dependencies
• Hover text includes:
  • Module name
  • Min. C++ standard supported
  • Authors
  • Abstract
  • Dependencies
  • Transitive dependency paths
  • Categories

The information about libraries comes from the metadata provided by each library in meta/libraries.json. For the min. C++ standard supported, if no metadata is provided, the highest standard between direct dependencies is considered.