[boost] Re: [boost::thread] locks, exceptions and assertions

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-07-21 12:49:44

Glen Knowles <gknowles_at_[hidden]> writes:

>>David Abrahams wrote:
>>> 
>>> Well, that's not my philosophy FWIW.  Mine is:
>>> 
>>>    if the condition is a programmer error, use assert
>>>    otherwise, use a well-documented exception
>> 
>>
>>So can I draw you back to the original question of why a locked 
>>scoped_lock throws rather than asserts?  The only thing that can cause 
>>this is calling lock on it twice which is a programming error, isn't it? 
>>It certainly isn't dependent on any external factors that I can see. 
>>Or are assert/throw decisions left up to the individual library 
>>implementors boost and William Kempf has a different view to yours on 
>>asserts/throws?
>
> That is a decision that tends to end with the library author. One thing that
> may make the specific case of relocking different is that the cause is
> likely a race condition - something that won't show up in normal testing. 

That sounds like what I remember Bill telling me.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com