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Do Programmers Actually Use Assertions?

Posted by Cliff on from the there-are-some-out-there dept.

P.Chalin queries: "Do programmers actually use assertions (like the assert statement of various programming languages)? If so, what should be done when errors or exceptions are raised during the evaluation of an assertion? I am collecting opinions and stats via a short questionnaire. Thanks."

1 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. (Disabled) assertions suck. by Dr.+Bent · · Score: 5, Informative

    Assertions (usually) are a preversion of the failfast principle, because they can be turned off. For the same reason you can't fit a 120v plug in a 240v outlet, error checking in software should be a permanent and reliable function of the design of the system.

    Either your software is broken, or it isn't. If it is, you (and the users) need to know about it as soon as possible to prevent little errors from causing big errors.

    Now, if you want to have an assertion that cannot be disabled, and is basically just syntax sugar for if(condition) throw new SomeException();, that could be useful. But exceptions that can be disabled only lead to a false sense of security.