support DLLs on Windows

[jll63]

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[cppalliance-bot]

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2026-07-03 15:51:03 UTC

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

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Adds Windows DLL/shared-library support by centralizing registry/policy mutable state into a single exported/imported registry-state symbol, and introduces build + test coverage to validate cross-module state sharing and dispatch.

Changes:

• Refactors registry and policy state to live under registry_state<Registry>::st, enabling Windows dllimport/dllexport via explicit template instantiation.
• Updates policies and initialization flow to use per-registry shared state, and consolidates method copies across modules during initialize().
• Adds dynamic-loading tests and updates CMake/b2 plumbing and docs/examples for Windows DLL scenarios.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 44 out of 203 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
test/test_util.hpp	Refactors test registries to use counter-based uniqueness.
test/test_runtime_errors.cpp	Adjusts output capture to use a stream accessor.
test/test_policies.cpp	Updates registry tests and adds static-assert coverage for policy initialization detection.
test/test_dispatch.cpp	Removes vptr_vector finalize assertions tied to old global statics.
test/test_custom_rtti.cpp	Updates custom RTTI to use stable per-type storage for non-polymorphic types and adjusts IDs.
test/test_core.cpp	Updates registries to the new counter-based test_registry_ helper.
test/test_compiler.cpp	Updates type-info access to new compiler class representation.
test/test_class_registration.cpp	Adds test ensuring registries have distinct state/IDs.
test/dynamic_loading/registry.hpp	Adds registry-selection + import/export macro wiring and shared-state ID introspection helper.
test/dynamic_loading/registry.cpp	Adds registry “owner” module exporting registry state and C symbols.
test/dynamic_loading/overrider.cpp	Adds overrider shared library exporting entry points for tests.
test/dynamic_loading/method.hpp	Declares open methods used across modules for dynamic-loading tests.
test/dynamic_loading/method.cpp	Adds base method shared library with overriders and exported entry points.
test/dynamic_loading/main.cpp	Adds Boost.DLL-based test validating shared registry state and cross-module dispatch.
test/dynamic_loading/get_ids.hpp	Adds generic get_ids helper (currently incomplete).
test/dynamic_loading/classes.hpp	Adds shared class hierarchy + factory for dynamic-loading tests.
test/dynamic_loading/Jamfile	Adds b2 build graph mirroring CMake dynamic-loading tests.
test/dynamic_loading/CMakeLists.txt	Adds CMake variants for dll-/exe-owned registry state and direct/indirect registry.
test/Jamfile	Adds dynamic_loading test subproject to b2.
test/CMakeLists.txt	Adds boost_openmethod_add_test() helper and conditionally enables dynamic_loading tests.
t.txt	Adds a standalone text file (appears unrelated).
notes.txt	Adds local build notes/log output (appears unrelated).
include/boost/openmethod/preamble.hpp	Introduces registry_state + registry/policy state plumbing and updates registry internals for DLL sharing.
include/boost/openmethod/policies/vptr_vector.hpp	Moves vptr storage into per-registry policy state.
include/boost/openmethod/policies/vptr_map.hpp	Moves vptr map into per-registry policy state.
include/boost/openmethod/policies/stderr_output.hpp	Moves stderr output stream into per-registry policy state and adds stream() accessor.
include/boost/openmethod/policies/fast_perfect_hash.hpp	Moves hash state into per-registry policy state; adds hash_range().
include/boost/openmethod/policies/default_error_handler.hpp	Moves default handler state into per-registry policy state; routes output via stream().
include/boost/openmethod/macros.hpp	Reorders va_args partial specialization to avoid ambiguity.
include/boost/openmethod/initialize.hpp	Adds policy init helpers, consolidates methods across modules, propagates slots/strides to copies, and routes policy init through the new state model.
include/boost/openmethod/default_registry.hpp	Adds Windows explicit instantiation import/export hooks for default/indirect registries.
include/boost/openmethod/core.hpp	Routes class/method catalogs through shared registry state and adjusts method bookkeeping for consolidation.
doc/modules/ROOT/pages/shared_libraries.adoc	Updates docs describing Windows DLL import/export mechanism and build setup.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/shared_libs/extensions.cpp	Updates shared-library example to use next correctly and export via BOOST_SYMBOL_EXPORT.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/shared_libs/dynamic_main.cpp	Updates loading example to use rtld_global/append_decorations and improved initialization.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/shared_libs/animals.hpp	Adds Windows registry-state import/export macro setup before including OpenMethod headers.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/shared_libs/CMakeLists.txt	Updates example build to support Windows DLL usage (including reverse linkage).
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/custom_rtti/2/custom_rtti.cpp	Fixes integer-to-pointer casts via std::uintptr_t for portability.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/custom_rtti/1/custom_rtti.cpp	Fixes integer-to-pointer casts via std::uintptr_t for portability.
doc/modules/ROOT/examples/CMakeLists.txt	Always builds shared_libs examples.
announce.md	Adds announcement document (unrelated to DLL mechanics).
CLAUDE.md	Adds repository guidance file (tooling/documentation).
.github/workflows/ci.yml	Updates excluded compilers list.
.claude/settings.json	Adds tool-specific settings.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (5)

include/boost/openmethod/initialize.hpp:1

• static_ is an alias of registry_state<registry> and does not have dispatch_data / initialized members. This looks like a compile-time error and should be updated to clear/reset the fields on the shared state object (i.e., the st member that actually owns dispatch_data and initialized).
  include/boost/openmethod/policies/vptr_vector.hpp:1
• vptr_vector::initialize() now depends on type_hash::hash_range() having been populated already. With the new generic policy initialization that iterates Registry::policy_list in-order, this introduces an order dependency: if a registry lists vptr_vector before the type_hash policy, hash_range() may return default/uninitialized values, leading to incorrect sizing and potential out-of-bounds access later in dynamic_vptr(). A robust fix is to make vptr_vector compute its required range without relying on prior initialization order (e.g., call a well-defined type_hash::initialize(...)/range computation itself, or enforce/init-order constraints in the policy initialization framework).
  include/boost/openmethod/policies/stderr_output.hpp:1
• The deprecated inline static detail::ostderr os; is a distinct object from the per-registry shared state::os. Any remaining internal or user code that still writes to Registry::output::os will silently bypass the shared-state stream (and on Windows may reintroduce per-module divergence). Consider removing os entirely (breaking change) or replacing it with an API that aliases the shared stream (e.g., a function-based accessor or a proxy) so legacy call sites still hit the shared state.
  test/dynamic_loading/get_ids.hpp:1
• This header is missing its closing #endif, which will break compilation if included. Additionally, it references mp11, detail, and std::size_t without including the needed headers or declaring the mp11 alias; either add the missing includes/aliases (and the #endif) or remove this file if it’s not intended to be part of the build.
  notes.txt:1
• The PR is about supporting DLLs on Windows, but notes.txt (and similarly t.txt) looks like local scratch/log output rather than project documentation or a test artifact. If these were committed unintentionally, they should be removed from the PR; if they are meant to be kept, consider moving them into an appropriate docs/troubleshooting location and trimming to the minimal actionable guidance.

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