I was using textual configuration files extensively and was also processing and preparing considerable amounts of data in XML. Consequently, I had a need for an extendible library that would provide a uniform interface to convert various data between their internal binary representations and external (predominantly textual) representations.

The boost::lexical_cast library (with its orthogonal and extendible design) looked very promising compared to others (see The String Formatters of Manor Farm by H. Sutter for the discussion of alternatives). Unfortunately,

The original hope was to see boost::lexical_cast extended to be applicable to a wider range of deployment scenarios. However, after discussions with Kevlin Henney (the boost::lexical_cast author) and in the Boost Developers forum it was collectively decided that the desired extensions were not compatible with the original design and the idea of what boost::lexical_cast embodied and, therefore, a new component with richer interface and functionality was needed. That decision resulted in the development of Boost.Convert described in this document.