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c++cassertassertion

What does assert(0) mean?

I had a question like this on one of my exams and I'm still not too sure how to answer it. I understand that assertions are ways to test your program, however I'm not too sure what assert(0) is checking. Is this a trick question? It will always fail, but I don't understand why. What is it checking?

Any explanation would be great, thanks.

Solution

  • It will always fail. That's pretty much it. It will fail always for the same reason that "assert(x == 5)" will succeed whenever x = 5.

    If you're asking for an application then you would put it in code blocks that really shouldn't happen.

    switch(suit) {
  case CLUB:
  case DIAMOND:
  case HEART:
  case SPADE:
  // ...
  default:
    assert(0);
 }