assert semantic change proposal

[Andrei Alexandrescu via Digitalmars-d]

On 8/3/14, 3:26 PM, David Bregman wrote:
> On Sunday, 3 August 2014 at 22:15:52 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
>> One related point that has been discussed only a little is the
>> competitive aspect of it all. Generating fast code is of paramount
>> importance for D's survival and thriving in the market. Competition in
>> language design and implementation is acerbic and only getting more
>> cutthroat. In the foreseeable future efficiency will become more
>> important at scale seeing as data is growing and frequency scaling has
>> stalled.
>
> Would you care to address the questions about performance raised in the OP?

I thought I just did.

>> Availing ourselves of a built-in "assert" that has a meaning and
>> informativeness unachievable to e.g. a C/C++ macro is a very important
>> and attractive competitive advantage compared to these and other
>> languages.
>
> Not really, you can redefine the C macro to behave exactly as proposed,
> using compiler specific commands to invoke undefined behavior. Didn't
> you say in the other thread that you tried exactly that?

That might be possible, but one thing I was discussing with Walter 
(reverse flow analysis) may be more difficult with the traditional 
definition of assert. Also I'm not sure whether the C and C++ standards 
require assert to do nothing in NDEBUG builds.

>> Walter has always meant assert the way he discusses it today. Has he
>> (and subsequently he and I) been imprecise in documenting it? Of
>> course, but that just means it's Tuesday.
>>
>> That said, should we proceed carefully about realizing this advantage?
>> Of course; that's a given. But I think it's very important to fully
>> understand the advantages of gaining an edge over the competition.
>
> Please comment on the concerns raised by the OP.

Probably not - there's little motivation to do so. The original post is 
little else than a self-important rehash of a matter in which everybody 
has stated their opinion, several times, in an exchange that has long 
ran its course. Having everyone paste their thoughts once again seems 
counterproductive.


Andrei