Re: [boost] Re: Boost.Threads draft library submission

From: David Abrahams (abrahams_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-03-17 22:31:21

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Garland" <jeff_at_[hidden]>
> > STLport in debug mode. I think you can configure it to throw exceptions,
> > too, but I'm not sure. Assertions are the default.
> >
> > -Dave
>
> Right, it is user configurable, which I guess is what you were suggesting
> for boost.threads?

Not neccessarily. Sometimes assertions are used to check the sanity of an
implementation. I don't want those throwing exceptions like "INTERNAL ERROR
THAT'S NOT YOUR FAULT" at well-behaved clients (I love when compilers do
this).

Moreover, I am not at all convinced it is appropriate for our libraries to
attempt to check for client abuse. If and where we /do/ decide it is
appropriate, I agree with the idea of using configurable response
strategies. I also believe it is usually best to put these checks in a
separate layer on top of the base implementation, rather than trying to
weave them into the release code.

-Dave

P.S. Configurable assertions in STLport was added at my suggestion. I was
targeting MacOS where assert() would abort the program and I wanted to be
able to call DebugStr() instead ;-)