Review assert() usage

[jonasraoni]

Describe the bug
Given that an assert() may stop the script execution or not depending on the php.ini setup (e.g. assert.exception), it shouldn't be used for control-flow nor as a way to generate useful warnings.

PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught AssertionError: assert(!empty($op)) in /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/PKPComponentRouter.php:193
Stack trace:
#0 /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/PKPComponentRouter.php(193): assert(false, 'assert(!empty($...')
#1 /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/PKPComponentRouter.php(279): PKP\core\PKPComponentRouter->getRpcServiceEndpoint(Object(APP\core\Request))
#2 /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/Dispatcher.php(163): PKP\core\PKPComponentRouter->route(Object(APP\core\Request))
#3 /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/PKPApplication.php(372): PKP\core\Dispatcher->dispatch(Object(APP\core\Request))
#4 /var/www/html/index.php(21): PKP\core\PKPApplication->execute()
#5 {main}
  thrown in /var/www/html/lib/pkp/classes/core/PKPComponentRouter.php on line 193

[asmecher]

Agreed, we're swapping out assertions for exceptions as a general practice. But is this issue filed for a general case, or for the specific assertion in the quoted log snippet?

[asmecher]

Any objections to swapping out assertions for Exceptions as a general practice/habit?

[jonasraoni]

@kaitlinnewson just created an issue (#10285), as there are no drawbacks in this discussion, I think it can be closed.
The approach will be basically to replace by an Exception/type hint where appropriate or to remove it if not useful.

[jonasraoni]

As the assert.* settings fall into the PHP_INI_ALL group, I just wanted to check if we can define some rules to have a more uniform behavior, independent of the user configuration.

[NateWr]

I'll close this as wontfix. If you want to make a general recommendation, try the discussions. If you have a specific part of the code that is causing a bug or needs to be chnaged, you can file an issue with that.