[Webkit-unassigned] [Bug 36527] Need an ASSERT that's enabled in release builds

[bugzilla-daemon at webkit.org]

https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36527





--- Comment #13 from Darin Adler <darin at apple.com>  2010-03-24 11:48:57 PST ---
A few thoughts.

ASSERT has no effect on production code; it is used during development to help
us find programming mistakes.

CRASH has a direct effect on end users, and is used to gather information from
the field and protect end users.

The benefits of a CRASH (not worded quite right):

    - Browser vendors will get crash reports from the field from our crash
tracing technologies.
    - Code after the CRASH is guaranteed unreachable, which can help prevent
some bugs from being security liabilities.

The cost of a CRASH:

    - Takes an internal programming error and turns it into a crash. Blows away
at least a tab, and in some cases the entire web browser, in cases that
otherwise might be harmless.

Then we need examples where an ASSERT is right, and examples where a CRASH is
right.

And we need to explain the largest hazard for ASSERT: expressions inside the
assertion are evaluated in debug builds but not in production code.

We also would want to explain ASSERT_UNUSED.

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