// GCC 4.4.0 - MinGW, Win XP SP3
// boost::any example

#include "boost/any.hpp"
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>

struct Marine
{
    size_t data_size;
    // any oter data....
    Marine(): data_size(36) {};
};

struct Topo
{
    size_t header_size;
    // any oter data....
    Topo(): header_size(12) {};
};

bool is_topo(const boost::any& _elem)
{
    return _elem.type() == typeid(Topo);
}

bool is_marine(const boost::any& _elem)
{
    return _elem.type() == typeid(Marine);
}

typedef std::vector<boost::any> vec;

void process_all(const vec& _v)
{
    for(vec::const_iterator it = _v.begin(); it != _v.end(); ++it)
    {
        if (is_topo(*it))
        {
            std::cout << "Topo, header_size: " << boost::any_cast<Topo>(*it).header_size << std::endl;
            // any other processing....
        }
        else if (is_marine(*it))
        {
            std::cout << "Marine, data_size: " << boost::any_cast<Marine>(*it).data_size << std::endl;
            // any other processing....
        }
    }
}

int main()
{
    vec v;
    Marine m;
    Topo t;

    v.push_back(m);
    v.push_back(t);
    process_all(v);

    return 0;
}