Expose internal assert globally.

[kitsonk]

While it isn't a browser standard, Node.js includes an assert() globally. We heavily use assert() in the internal code, but at runtime there is no assert() available.

Exposing it as Deno.assert() would be problematic in TypeScript because of microsoft/TypeScript#37818 as it would require a type annotation all the time if you tried to destructure it and it looks like it is unlikely to ever be addressed in TypeScript because of design limitations.

We have assert() in std/testing/asserts.ts but including a testing module just to be able to do an assert() seems very heavy weight as it includes two other dependencies as well:

https://deno.land/x/std/testing/asserts.ts
  ├── https://deno.land/x/std/fmt/colors.ts
  └── https://deno.land/x/std/testing/diff.ts

So while it isn't ideal to have something in the global namespace that isn't in browsers, it is a minor variation that makes it significantly easier to write better code, especially since assert() also provides type narrowing in TypeScript now.

[nayeemrmn]

Node.js includes an assert() globally.

It doesn't, I think you saw the behaviour where all of the built-in modules are automatically exposed as globals in the REPL.

[kitsonk]

Grr... you are right... 😢

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

[ry]

I'm reluctant to add non-standard globals.

[bartlomieju]

In light of #6252 (comment) this issue can be closed.