Please provide more asserts in SDK libraries

[butch]

It would be nice if libraries in the SDK contained more asserts about preconditions and postconditions. For example, since app_timer requires the lfclk running, the app_timer_init() implementation should assert that. Such asserts conventionally compile away if NDEBUG is defined.

You might also provide a version of the SD that contained more asserts.

[Matt]

Interview question: And what are you going to do on your end if THEY never respond to your assert request?

[butch]

I'm not sure if that is humor, but... Not much I can do on my end. My time was already wasted learning late in my development (in the debugger) that I needed to start the lf clock. I could explore whether there are alternative products where the dev environment is more productive. Probably the answer is no.

[Matt]

Humor and interview questions don't mix well. You don't waste time if you learn something useful. You have the SDK source code, so what stops you from doing something on your end, IF the Nordic folks don't respond to your assert request?

[MartinBL]

Hi,

I have relayed your opinion to the software team. I have asked them about similar requests before and their arguments are resources, manhours, priorities, and flash space. The latter is specifically relevant for the Softdevice which we try to keep as small as possible. It is true that we can compile away the debug printouts, but we still need to implement extra mechanisms in the lower layers to produce the relevant information.

Not too long ago I also saw someone arguing that we had too many asserts. They would rather handle it themselves. So unfortunately it isn't possible to keep everyone satisfied.