C++ Catch Framework Deal with C's assert?

Question

I have unittests using the Phil Squared's Catch Testing framework in combination with some third party code that is using assert.

During development it happens quiet often that through some bug assertions are raised and the program is aborted. In these cases, Catch doesn't report any logs and other diagnostic info.

Is there a way to "redirect" this program abortion and let Catch deal with it ?

Answer 1

You can't catch assert, but you can redefine it. Original assert just terminates the program, it does not throw exception, so you can't catch it. But assert is a macro and you can undef original macro and define your own. In C++ programs it is a common trick to redefine assert in such a way, that it will throw exception. And then you will be able to catch it in tests.