To assert() or not to assert(), that is not really a question...

[Ravi Pokala]

-----Original Message-----
From: <owner-freebsd-arch at freebsd.org> on behalf of Poul-Henning Kamp <phk at phk.freebsd.dk>
Date: 2018-05-26, Saturday at 00:19
To: <arch at freebsd.org>
Subject: To assert() or not to assert(), that is not really a question...
> ...
> 
> 1. "Regular asserts" - things which are just plain wrong, which
>    probably means we have a genuine bug somewhere.  Examples could
>    be null pointers where previous checks should have ensured this
>    not be so.  Also error situations for which there is no saner
>    handling that killing the projcess.
> 
> ...
> 
> 3. "wrong asserts" - Internal state is messed up, program flow
>    has taken a "impossible" branch.  A good example is the
>    default branch of a switch on a finite input set.

Hi Poul-Henning,

I am in strong overall agreement with your argument. I am however confused as to how (1) and (3) are different; they're both irrevocably bad internal state.

Thanks,

Ravi (rpokala@)