Question:
I am not sure if it is good when I use the assert macro in the following code:
int sum(int number)// Precondition: number => 1// Postcondition: return sum from 1 to n terms{ assert(number >= 1); int total = 0; for (;number >= 1; number--) { total = total + number; } return total;}What do you think?
Answer:
Using the assert() macro to detect a runtime error is a bad idea; assert() is meant to serve as a debugging aid rather than handling runtime errors. The problem is this: when you build your application as a release version, every occurrence of assert() will be automatically removed from the code (thanks to macro magic). Consequently, your condition will never be tested.
Instead of assert(), you can use a simple IF statement, such as the following:
if (number >= 1) exit(-1);
Alternatively, you may use exceptions to handle more complicate situations or if your application contains objects that need to be destructed properly before exiting.
