How to be more careful about null pointers?

[QAston via Digitalmars-d-learn]

On Monday, 28 March 2016 at 21:01:19 UTC, cy wrote:
> I finally found the null pointer. It took a week. I was 
> assigning "db = db" when I should have been assigning "this.db 
> = db". Terrible, I know. But...
>
> I invoked db.find_chapter.bindAll(8,4), when db was a null 
> pointer. There was no null pointer error. No exception raised 
> for dereferencing a null. I'm not in release mode. Assertions 
> are enabled. Shouldn't that have raised a null pointer 
> exception?
>
> Instead, it accesses db as if db were not null, producing a 
> garbage structure in find_chapter, which bindAll chokes on, 
> then causes the whole program to segfault.
>
> I realize enforce(db).find_chapter would work, but... I thought 
> D was more careful about null pointers? At least enough to die 
> on dereferencing them?

You can use a lint to warn you about silly mistakes, check out 
dscanner and possibly others.