[ODE] ODE and the STL

[David Walters]

Hi, I'm writing to gauge opinion on whether STL should be prevented
from becoming a depency for ODE. This has come about because I've been
kindly submitted a patch for the heightfield collider which claims to
improve performance, stability etc. here:

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1583115&group_id=24884&atid=382801

However it relies on STL list, vector and algorithm which create a new
dependency on STL.

Now personally I'm not too fond of the STL for my own projects, I find
a bit too heavyweight and I'm worried about console games using ODE
being put off by this - however I don't want to be rejecting patches
based on my sole opinions - hence this post.

I've gone into a little more detail in the patch report if you're interested.

So, what does everyone else think? am I being over cautious - can STL
be used without problems on all systems? or is it a good thing that
it's not being used.

Regards,
Dave

ps. I've attached simpler list and array (vector) classes from my own
engine to the patch so that some middle ground could be reached if
dynamic arrays and lists are really needed.