Peter Eisentraut <pe...@eisentraut.org> writes:
> On 06.09.23 17:01, Alvaro Herrera wrote:
>> Assert()ing that a pointer is not null, and in the next line
>> dereferencing that pointer, is useless: the process would crash anyway
>> at the time of dereference, so the Assert() adds no value. Better to
>> leave the assert out.
> I don't think this is quite correct. If you dereference a pointer, the
> compiler may assume that it is not null and rearrange code accordingly.
> So it might not crash. Keeping the assertion would alter that assumption.
Uh ... only in assert-enabled builds. If your claim is correct,
this'd result in different behavior in debug and production builds,
which would be even worse. But I don't believe the claim.
I side with Alvaro's position here: such an assert is unhelpful.
regards, tom lane
