[Bug libstdc++/23888] should debug mode throw instead of assert?

["bangerth at dealii dot org" <gcc-bugzilla at gcc dot gnu dot org>]

------- Additional Comments From bangerth at dealii dot org  2005-09-14 23:05 -------
I think that's a particularly bad idea: if we use assert(), then we get 
an immediate backtrace when run in the debugger. If an exception is 
thrown, it is a pain to set a breakpoint in the correct libsupc++ function 
where the exception is raised (I wouldn't even know its name right now), 
and it will be hard to find where the error was raised. Finding this spot, 
however, is the sole purpose of offering the debug mode libstdc++. 
 
Secondly, some user code higher up might have expected an exception from 
below and have a throw(std::exception&) clause. Catching all exceptions 
might have been a good idea at the time of writing this code, since it was 
known that only the called functions would raise certain exceptions, but 
now suddenly there are more players that could raise exceptions, and the 
additional ones could, without intention, be treated as well in the clause, 
masking the fact that debug libstdc++ has in fact raised an exception. 
 
Putting my application writer hat on, I would strongly recommend not to raise  
exceptions! 
 
W. 

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http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=23888