Make using compiled libs with debug code better

[bauss]

On Tuesday, 19 October 2021 at 13:57:31 UTC, Steven Schveighoffer 
wrote:
> On 10/18/21 5:51 PM, Elronnd wrote:
>> On Monday, 18 October 2021 at 13:04:47 UTC, Steven 
>> Schveighoffer wrote:
>>> Would it be a reasonable thing to change contracts to be 
>>> called by the caller instead of the callee? Is that something 
>>> that could make its way into D, such that the input checking 
>>> of functions that are compiled for release still can run when 
>>> you compile your code in non-release mode?
>> 
>> What if I take a pointer to a function with contracts and call 
>> it from someplace that doesn't know about those contracts?
>
> A good point. There are also issues with virtual functions 
> along these lines.
>
> The only thing I can think of is to compile the contract code, 
> provide 2 entry points for the function, and let the caller 
> pick the one they want. This would have the same effect.
>
>> 
>> Better to leave assertions on by default, and make you have to 
>> go out of your way to turn them off.  IMO.
>
> This would leave Phobos in pretty bad shape for performance. 
> Especially with invariants. I know for instance that 
> RedBlackTree has an invariant that validates the tree 
> correctness on every operation (and this runs before and after 
> every function). However, if you build your project with dub, 
> every library you depend on (with source available) will be 
> built the same as your application. So Phobos is kind of alone 
> in this regard based on the way we distribute libraries.
>
> I'm not sure what the right answer is, but that is what this 
> thread is for -- can we solve this in a non-disruptive or 
> minimally-disruptive way?
>
> -Steve

The solution to that problem would be assertion levels, like you 
declare how important an assertion is and then you can toggle 
based on that.