C++ Assert

In C++, an assertion is a statement used to state or assert that the expression must be true.

It is used to check the conditions that cannot happen unless there is a bug. So, it is used as a debugging tool since it terminates the program when the assertion becomes false.

For example, if we want to calculate the average of non-empty vector nums, then the assertion

nums.size() > 0 

must hold true unless there is a bug in the program.

Create C++ Assertion

In C++, we can use assertion using the assert preprocessor macro, which is defined in the cassert header file.

#include <cassert>

Once we import this file, we can create an assertion using the following syntax:

assert(expression);

Here, if the expression evaluates to

• 0 (false) - the assert prints a message and terminates the program
• 1 (true) - does nothing and continues normal execution of the program

Example 1: C++ assert

#include <iostream>
#include <cassert>
using namespace std;

int main() {

  int even_num = 3;

  // asserts the value of even_num must be even
  assert((even_num % 2 == 0));

  return 0;
}

Output

Assertion `(even_num % 2 == 0)' failed.
Aborted

In the above example, we have used the assert macro to assert that the value of even_num should be even.

assert(even_num % 2 == 0);

Since the value of even_num is 3, the assertion even num % 2 == 0 fails. As a result, the program terminates and an error message is printed.

But if we change even_num to 2, the program executes without any error.

assert(("The number should be even", even_num % 2  == 0));

Assertion `("The number should be even", even_num % 2 == 0)' failed

Disable assert in C++

Assertions are used to check conditions that should not happen unless there is a bug. So, they are used as a debugging tool.

Therefore, we should remove the assertions before the release of the application as the released build should be functional and should never trigger the assertion.

One way to disable the assertions is by searching for the assert macro in code after the debugging is completed and removing it manually.

A better approach is to disable it using the NDEBUG macro. This macro ignores all assertions globally. We can implement this macro by using the #define directive right before including the cassert header file.

So when we are done with debugging and don't need assertions, we can add the code below.

#define NDEBUG
#include <cassert> 

Note: For a larger project with multiple files, NDEBUG can be set with the compiler command-line options or through the IDE setting.

Static Assert

The assert macro is used for runtime assertion. In contrast, static_assert is used for assertion at compile time.

The syntax for static_assert is

static_assert(const_boolean_expression, message);

Here,

• const_boolean_expression - expression that is known during compile-time
• message - message to show if the assertion fails

Since static_assert is a keyword, we don't need to include any header file.

Example 2: C++ Static Assert

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {

  static_assert(sizeof(int) >= 4, "Size of integer must be greater than or equal to 4 bytes");

  return 0;
}

In the above example, we have used static assertions so that size of the integer is at least 4 bytes in the platform where the code is running.

Since the size of data types can differ across platforms, we can use static assertion to assert in compile time.

Unlike assert, which is done at runtime, the program fails to compile if the static_assert fails.

Here, if we run the program in an older system (16 bit), the assertion fails since the sizeof(int) is 2 bytes.

Example 3: C++ Static Assert - Generic Programming

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

template <class T, int size>
class Container {

  static_assert(size > 0, "The size of container cannot be less than 1");
  T items[size];
};

int main() {
  Container<int, 0> st;
  return 0;
}

Output

error: static assertion failed: The size of container cannot be less than 1

In the above example, we have used a static assertion to ensure that the size of the array in the generic class is greater than 0.

Here, we have created an object of the Container class using:

Container <int, 0> st;

Since the value of size is 0, the compilation fails with a static assertion failed message.

When to Use Assertions

1. Unreachable Codes

These are the codes that do not execute when we try to run the program. Use assertions to make sure unreachable codes are actually unreachable.

Let's take an example.

void unreachable_code_method() {
  cout << "Reachable code";
  return;

  // Unreachable code
  cout << "Unreachable code";
  assert(false);
}

Let's take an example of a switch statement without a default case.

switch (day_of_week) {
  case 1:
    cout << "It's Sunday!";
    break;
  case 2:
    cout << "It's Monday!";
    break;
  case 3:
    cout << "It's Tuesday!";
    break;
  case 4:
    cout << "It's Wednesday!";
    break;
  case 5:
    cout << "It's Thursday!";
    break;
  case 6:
    cout << "It's Friday!";
    break;
  case 7:
    cout << "It's Saturday!";
    break;

The above switch statement indicates that the days of the week can be only from 1 to 7. Having no default case means that the programmer believes that one of these cases will always be executed.

However, there might be some cases that have not yet been considered where the assumption is actually false.

This assumption should be checked using an assertion to make sure that the default switch case is not reached.

default:
  assert(("An Invalid Day", false));

If day_of_week has a value other than the 1 - 7, an assertion error occurs.

2. Documenting Assumptions

To document their underlying assumptions, many programmers use comments. Let's take an example.

if (i % 2 == 0) {
  ...
}
else { // We know (i % 2 == 1)
  ...
}

Use assertions instead.

Comments can get out-of-date and out-of-sync as the program grows. However, we will be forced to update the assert macro; otherwise, they might fail for valid conditions too.

if (i % 2 == 0) {
  ...
}
else {
  assert(i % 2 == 1);
  ...
}

When Not to Use Assertions

1. Argument Checking in public Functions

Arguments in public functions may be provided by the user.

So if an assertion is used to check these arguments, the conditions may fail and result in an assertion error.

Instead of using assertions, let it result in the appropriate runtime exceptions and handle these exceptions.

2. To Evaluate Expressions That Affect the Program Operation

Do not call methods or evaluate exceptions that cause side effects. For example,

int n = 5;

// assertion with side effects
// here assertion is decrementing 'n' and asserts if n is even
assert(--n && n % 2 == 0);

In the above example, the statement --n && n % 2 == 0 has a side effect i.e it modifies the value of variable n . Also, the assert macro runs only if the assertion is enabled.

But if we have disabled the assertions using the NDEBUG macro, the above decrement statement is never evaluated, thus affecting the whole code if n is referenced later in the code.

So instead of evaluating expressions that have side effects inside the assert macro, we can write it as

int n = 5;

//decrement n
--n;
  
// assertion without side effects
// here assertion asserts if n is even
assert(n % 2 == 0);

This ensures that the value of n is the same whether the assertion is enabled or disabled.