Lighter

Lighter is a header-only library in C++20 to check assertions.

Examples

In preparation, define the macro expect(x) as follows:

#define expect(x) maroontress::lighter::Flint {(x), #x, [](auto r) { \
        const auto& w = std::source_location::current(); \
        std::cout \
            << w.file_name() << ":" << w.line() << ": error:" << std::endl \
            << "  Expected: " << r.getExpected() << std::endl \
            << "  Actual:   " << r.getActual() << std::endl; \
    }}

The macro expect(x) is a trigger to start an assertion, and when the assertion fails, it calls the lambda expression at the third argument with the reason for the assertion failure. Note that the macro name expect is used only to illustrate the following examples and can be any name.

Integers

Here is a simple example of using the macro expect(x):

int x {12};

// PASS
expect(x) == 12;

// FAIL
expect(x) == 13;

The first assertion expect(x) == 12; does nothing because the variable x is 12. On the other hand, the second expect(x) != 12; fails so that it calls the lambda expression and then prints as follows:

main.cxx:14: error:
  Expected: x == 13
  Actual:   x was 12

In addition to ==, you can also use !=, <, >, <=, and >= as operators. Note that the expression expect(x) itself does nothing. Comparison with an operator triggers an evaluation.

Pointers

For pointers, the member functions isNull() and isNotNull() are available to compare the specified value with nullptr as follows:

int x {12};

// PASS
expect(&x) != nullptr;
expect(&x).isNotNull();

// FAIL
expect(&x) == nullptr;
expect(&x).isNull();

The last two assertions fail and the console shows:

main.cxx:26: error:
  Expected: &x == nullptr
  Actual:   &x was 0xafc178f4a4
main.cxx:27: error:
  Expected: &x is null
  Actual:   &x was 0xafc178f4a4

Booleans

For booleans, the member functions isTrue() and isFalse() are available:

bool x {false};

// PASS
expect(x).isFalse();

// FAIL
expect(x).isTrue();

The last assertion fails and the console shows:

main.cxx:38: error:
  Expected: x is true
  Actual:   x was false

Containers

Let's look at more complex use cases. For containers, the following member functions are available:

• size()
• anyItem()
• everyItem()

The function size() transforms the container to its size as follows:

std::vector<int> x {12, 23, 34};
std::initializer_list<std::string> y = {"a", "b"};

// PASS
expect(x).size() == 3;
expect(y).size() == 2;

// FAIL
expect(x).size() == 1;
expect(y).size() == 0;

The last two assertions fail and the console shows:

main.cxx:51: error:
  Expected: the size of (x) == 1
  Actual:   the size of (x) was 3
main.cxx:52: error:
  Expected: the size of (y) == 0
  Actual:   the size of (y) was 2

The function anyItem() transforms the container to its elements. The assertion fails only when none of them meets the requirement on the right-hand side of anyItem().

std::vector<int> x {12, 23, 34};
std::initializer_list<std::string> y = {"a", "b"};

// PASS
expect(x).anyItem() == 23;
expect(y).anyItem() == "a";

// FAIL
expect(x).anyItem() > 45;
expect(y).anyItem() == "c";

The last two assertions fail and the console shows:

main.cxx:65: error:
  Expected: any element of (x) > 45
  Actual:   none of the elements met that requirement
main.cxx:66: error:
  Expected: any element of (y) == "c"
  Actual:   none of the elements met that requirement

The function everyItem() also transforms the container to its elements. However, the assertion fails when at least one of them does not meet the requirement on the right-hand side of everyItem().

std::vector<int> x {12, 23, 34};
std::initializer_list<std::string> y = {"a", "b"};

// PASS
expect(x).everyItem() < 45;
expect(y).everyItem() <= "b";

// FAIL
expect(x).everyItem() < 20;
expect(y).everyItem() == "b";

The last two assertions fail and the console shows:

main.cxx:79: error:
  Expected: every element of (x) < 20
  Actual:   (x)[1] was 23
main.cxx:80: error:
  Expected: every element of (y) == "b"
  Actual:   (y)[0] was "a"

If the container is empty, the behavior of anyItem() and everyItem() is quite different. For empty containers, the anyItem() always fails, while everyItem() always succeeds as follows:

std::vector<int> z {};

// PASS
expect(z).everyItem() == 10;

// FAIL
expect(z).anyItem() == 10;

The last assertion fails and the console shows:

main.cxx:91: error:
  Expected: any element of (z) == 10
  Actual:   there is no element

Note that size(), anyItem(), and everyItem() can be combined as follows:

std::vector<std::string> a = {"aaa"}, b = {"bb", "bbb"}, c = {"c", "cc"};
auto x = {a, b, c};

// PASS
expect(x).anyItem().everyItem().size() > 2;

// FAIL
expect(x).everyItem().anyItem().size() > 2;

The last assertion fails and the console shows:

main.cxx:103: error:
  Expected: the size of (any element of (every element of (x))) > 2
  Actual:   as for (x)[2], none of the elements met that requirement

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