I'm starting to understand there are clearly 2 different worlds, if you live in one where C++ assumes the use of smart pointers, or especially Boost.

In the C++ world I live/work Boost is avoided like the plague. I always wondered how Boost continues to exist, but it seems in certain communities it's held up as a standard to strive for.

You can still use raw pointers and sockets in C++, which the code examples provided in the book do