Follow Techotopia on Twitter

On-line Guides
All Guides
eBook Store
iOS / Android
Linux for Beginners
Office Productivity
Linux Installation
Linux Security
Linux Utilities
Linux Virtualization
Linux Kernel
System/Network Admin
Programming
Scripting Languages
Development Tools
Web Development
GUI Toolkits/Desktop
Databases
Mail Systems
openSolaris
Eclipse Documentation
Techotopia.com
Virtuatopia.com
Answertopia.com

How To Guides
Virtualization
General System Admin
Linux Security
Linux Filesystems
Web Servers
Graphics & Desktop
PC Hardware
Windows
Problem Solutions
Privacy Policy

  




 

 

Thinking in C++
Prev Contents / Index Next

The C assert( ) macro

In the standard header file <cassert> you’ll find assert( ), which is a convenient debugging macro. When you use assert( ), you give it an argument that is an expression you are “asserting to be true.” The preprocessor generates code that will test the assertion. If the assertion isn’t true, the program will stop after issuing an error message telling you what the assertion was and that it failed. Here’s a trivial example:

//: C03:Assert.cpp
// Use of the assert() debugging macro
#include <cassert>  // Contains the macro
using namespace std;

int main() {
  int i = 100;
  assert(i != 100); // Fails
} ///:~

The macro originated in Standard C, so it’s also available in the header file assert.h.

When you are finished debugging, you can remove the code generated by the macro by placing the line:

#define NDEBUG

in the program before the inclusion of <cassert>, or by defining NDEBUG on the compiler command line. NDEBUG is a flag used in <cassert> to change the way code is generated by the macros.

Later in this book, you’ll see some more sophisticated alternatives to assert( ).


Thinking in C++
Prev Contents / Index Next

 
 
   Reproduced courtesy of Bruce Eckel, MindView, Inc. Design by Interspire