Re: [boost] expected/result/etc

Subject: Re: [boost] expected/result/etc
From: Gavin Lambert (gavinl_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-02-11 19:40:18

On 12/02/2016 13:02, Peter Dimov wrote:
> Gavin Lambert wrote:
>> The only reason that shared_ptr::operator* does not throw is that the
>> class author decided that this is likely a hot path and the calling
>> code has *probably* already checked for null, so it is more
>> *efficient* to omit the check entirely (and cause undefined behavior
>> if called in violation of that assumption).
>
> That's not true. The class author decided that calling operator* on a
> NULL pointer is a logic error and therefore a correct program should
> never do so. This doesn't have anything to do with performance; it's a
> question of design.

Then why doesn't it throw a logic_error?  Or call abort()?

Again, an assert is a useful tool in debug mode but it disappears in 
release mode.  The only reason to elide this check is for performance.

Much as it might be considered "bad practice", there *is* software that 
is only ever built and tested in release mode (or at least only rarely 
in debug mode).  For this software, the assert might as well not be 
there -- because it isn't.