ASSERT () Function Usage Summary

The prototype of an Assert macro is defined in <assert.h>, and its function is to terminate the execution of the program if its condition returns an error, and the prototype defines:

#include <assert.h>
void assert (int expression);

The function of an assert is to evaluate expression expressions, if the value is False (that is, 0), then it prints an error message to stderr and then terminates the program by calling abort. Take a look at the following program listing BADPTR.C:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main (void)
{
       FILE *FP;
    
       fp = fopen ("Test.txt", "w");//Open a file in a writable manner and create a file with the same name if it does not exist
       ASSERT (FP);                           So there's no mistake here.
       Fclose (FP);
    
       fp = fopen ("Noexitfile.txt", "R");//Open a file as read-only and fail to open if it does not exist
       ASSERT (FP);                           So there's a mistake.
       Fclose (FP);                           The program will never be executed here.
       return 0;
}

[Email protected] error_process]# gcc badptr.c
[Email protected] error_process]#./a.out
A.out:badptr.c:14:main:assertion ' FP ' failed.

The disadvantage of using assert () is that frequent calls can greatly affect the performance of the program and add additional overhead. After debugging, you can disable the Assert call by inserting the #define NDEBUG before the statement that contains # include <assert.h>, as shown in the following example code:

#include <stdio.h>
#define Ndebug
#include <assert.h>

Usage Summary and Precautions:

1) Verify the legitimacy of incoming parameters at the beginning of the function, such as:

int resetbuffersize (int nnewsize)
{
Function: Change buffer size,
Parameter: Nnewsize buffer new length

Note: Keep the original information content unchanged     nnewsize<=0 means clear buffer
ASSERT (nnewsize >= 0);
ASSERT (Nnewsize <= max_buffer_size);
...
}

　　

2) Each assert examines only one condition, because when multiple conditions are checked, if the assertion fails, it is not possible to visually determine which condition failed, such as:

Not good:

ASSERT (noffset>=0 && noffset+nsize<=m_ninfomationsize);

Good:

ASSERT (noffset >= 0);
ASSERT (Noffset+nsize <= m_ninfomationsize);

3) You cannot use a statement that alters the environment, because assert only takes effect in debug, and if you do, you will use the program to run into problems when it is actually running, such as:

Error:

ASSERT (i++ < 100);

This is because if there is an error, such as i=100 before execution, then this statement will not be executed, then i++ This command will not be executed.

That's right:

ASSERT (I < 100);
i++;

4) The Assert and subsequent statements should be empty lines to form a logical and visual sense of consistency.

5) In some places, assert cannot replace conditional filtering.

ASSERT () Function Usage Summary