🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <45cj8d$red@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com>,
Mike Rubenstein <miker3@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>	Finally, it is absurd to make elaborate security checks on debugging 
>	runs, when no trust is put in the results, and then remove them in 
>	production runs, when an erroneous result could be expensive or 
>	disasterous.  What would we think of a sailing enthusiast who wears 
>	his life-jacket when training on dry land but takes it off as soon as 
>	he goes to sea>
>
>From C, A, R, Hoare in "Hints on programming language design" in 

The analogy is bogus, IMHO.  Constraint checks don't save lives in the
same way as life jackets.  If the program gets Constraint_Error, what is
the pilot of the airplane supposed to do?!

Constraint checks just give the programmer a better idea of where to
start debugging.  So, IMHO, turning checks on during debugging, and off
(if necessary for speed), during production runs, makes perfect sense to
me.  Note the "if necessary".  Real-time systems care about time.  If
checking code is fast enough (and a good compiler will remove most
checks), then sure, leave it turned on.  But don't be fooled into
thinking that will make the system work properly in the presence of
bugs.

- Bob