How can I replace assertions with ifs? Example:
public Wezel<Wartosc,Indeks> getWujek() { assert rodzic != null; // Root node has no uncle assert rodzic.rodzic != null; // Children of root has no uncle return rodzic.getBrat(); } 
- Out of curiosity, why do you want to do this?Matt Ball– Matt Ball2011-12-11 17:41:32 +00:00Commented Dec 11, 2011 at 17:41
- I'm not quite sure about it's semantic correctness, and i want to make it better.Ariel Grabijas– Ariel Grabijas2011-12-11 18:14:16 +00:00Commented Dec 11, 2011 at 18:14
Add a comment |
3 Answers
An assertion is roughly equivalent to:
if (!condition) { throw new AssertionError(); } answered Dec 11, 2011 at 17:30
Oliver Charlesworth
274k34 gold badges591 silver badges687 bronze badges
2 Comments
ratchet freak
besides that assertions only work when the
-ea switch is passed to the JVM
Ariel Grabijas
I suppose this answer is the best one, because i don't have to catch AssertionError().
public Wezel<Wartosc,Indeks> getWujek() { if(rodzic == null) { // Root node has no uncle throw new Exception("Root node has no uncle"); } if(rodzic.rodzic == null) { throw new Exception("Children of root have no uncle"); } return rodzic.getBrat(); } 
Comments
Replacing these assertions would take the form of the following validation:
if (rodzic == null) throw new MyValidationException("rodzic cannot be null"); if (rodzic.rodzic == null) throw new MyValidationException("rodzic.rodzic cannot be null"); return rodzic.getBrat(); Note that there's a distinction between throwing an Exception and an Error - Exceptions are meant to be caught and handled farther up, while Errors indicate a situation that you can't recover from. For example, you might consider a defining and using a MyValidationError if the failed check is irrecoverable.
