www.digitalmars.com         C & C++   DMDScript  

digitalmars.D - Would assertion messages be useful ?

reply Francois Beausoleil <Francois_member pathlink.com> writes:
How about a construct such as this:
assert(lines == 3, "Expected to have found three lines");

Without the message, one needs the source code to find out what the failed
assertion means.

Thanks !
François
Jul 26 2004
next sibling parent Sean Kelly <sean f4.ca> writes:
In article <ce3kob$1d6f$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Francois Beausoleil says...
How about a construct such as this:
assert(lines == 3, "Expected to have found three lines");

Without the message, one needs the source code to find out what the failed
assertion means.
Personally, I like having to go to the source code. Assertions taken out of context could mean nearly anything. Sean
Jul 26 2004
prev sibling next sibling parent Arcane Jill <Arcane_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <ce3kob$1d6f$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Francois Beausoleil says...
How about a construct such as this:
assert(lines == 3, "Expected to have found three lines");

Without the message, one needs the source code to find out what the failed
assertion means.
One needs the source code to fix the bug anyway - however, there might be circumstances where it becomes useful. Suppose a third party implements this function in a library: Now, if you call this function with f(1000), you're going to get an assert - but in this case the bug is in /your/ code (because you have violated the function's in-contract). And yet, because this is a third-party library, it is possible that you might not have access to its source code. How, then, are you to know what f's contract is? I think it was Ben who said that in-contracts are (should be) part of a function's interface. I don't know if it's possible to specify just the in-contract in a stripped down header file, but if it is, that's the way to go - in which case, you /still/ don't need an extra text message. Arcane Jill
Jul 26 2004
prev sibling parent Derek Parnell <derek psych.ward> writes:
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 19:06:51 +0000 (UTC), Francois Beausoleil wrote:

 How about a construct such as this:
 assert(lines == 3, "Expected to have found three lines");
 
 Without the message, one needs the source code to find out what the failed
 assertion means.
 
I think that asserts are meant to be read by the coder - the user of the source code. This doesn't mean that the coder wouldn't appreciate the _hint_ text, but they should also have access to the source. It would be unusual to have assert messages coming out from a library that has been distributed by somebody else, except if they also distributed a special _debug_ version of the library. -- Derek Melbourne, Australia 27/Jul/04 10:05:36 AM
Jul 26 2004