KAssert: Karlsruhe Assertion Library for C++

KAssert is the assertion library used by KaMPIng, the Karlsruhe MPI Wrapper. However, KAssert does not depend on MPI and can be used in non-MPI code. For more information, see the README below and the documentation.

Features

• Assertion levels to distinguish between computationally cheap and expensive assertions
• Expression decomposition to give more insights into failed assertions
• Throwing assertions

Example

The KASSERT macros accepts 1, 2 or 3 arguments.

KASSERT(1 + 1 == 3, "The world is a lie!", kassert::assert::normal);
KASSERT(1 + 1 == 3, "The world is a lie!"); // use default assertion level (kassert::assert::normal)
KASSERT(1 + 1 == 3); // omit custom error message

You can also use C++ streams to build custom error messages on the fly.

int a = 1;
int b = 3;
KASSERT(a + a == b, "Under the assumption that a is " << a << ", the world is a lie!");

Use THROWING_KASSERT to throw an exception if the assertion fails. This requires the CMake option KASSERT_EXCEPTION_MODE to be set. If exception mode is not enabled, THROWING_KASSERT acts the same as KASSERT.

THROWING_KASSERT(1 + 1 == 3, "The world is a lie!");
THROWING_KASSERT(1 + 1 == 3); // omit custom error message

You can also throw a custom exception type using the THROWING_KASSERT_SPECIFIED macro:

THROWING_KASSERT_SPECIFIED(1 + 1 == 3, "The world is a lie!", your::ns::Exception [, ...]);

The constructor of your custom exception type must be called with a std::string as its first argument, followed by the remaining arguments [, ...] passed to THROWING_KASSERT_SPECIFIED.

Assertion Levels

Assertions are enabled if their assertion level (optional third parameter of KASSERT) is less than or equal to the active assertion level. The default level is kassert::assert::normal (30). Set the CMake variable KASSERT_ASSERTION_LEVEL to the numeric value of the desired assertion level. If omitted, the assertion level is set to 0, which disables all assertions.

Custom Assertion Levels

You are free to define your own assertion levels. For instance:

namespace kamping::assert {
#define KAMPING_ASSERTION_LEVEL_LIGHT 20
constexpr int light = KAMPING_ASSERTION_LEVEL_LIGHT;

#define KAMPING_ASSERTION_LEVEL_HEAVY 40
constexpr int heavy = KAMPING_ASSERTION_LEVEL_HEAVY;
} // namespace kamping::assert

Requirements

• C++17-ready compiler (GCC, Clang, ICX)

LICENSE

KAssert is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.