std::optional vs boost::optional

[sjunges]

did we agree which we use? I am slightly in favor of std.

[tquatmann]

My vote is for std::optional as well.

[volkm]

I am also in favour of using features from std whenever possible.

[volkm]

As a follow-up, other constructs such as boost::any can possibly also be replaced.

[tquatmann]

Agreed; I'm not sure, however, if we should should replace all the occurrences at once or do this slowly, whenever we work on a file? I prefer the latter, tbh.

[volkm]

I personally would prefer the former. Then we have one dedicated commit which changes this behaviour, and we can also make sure that certain constructs are not occurring anymore. Otherwise, I could see that certain parts are never updated, because the file is never worked on. I see however, that the first option is more work at once and one has to be more careful not to break anything.

[sjunges]

Having done this a bit: one dedicated commit is definitively chaos. I think it is good to start getting particular parts of the code boost-optional free, that way, it feels rewarding, but also something that you can do in a few unproductive hours.

[volkm]

Some related discussion here