New feature: internal validation

[TysonRayJones]

contributor: Tyson Jones
release: v4

In addition to the user-input validation, QuEST now has a system for detecting and handling internal errors. All compile conditions assumed by files (e.g. is this macro valid? Is an nvcc compiler being used?) are checked with pre-processors, and all run-time conditions (e.g. this function is being dispatched to GPU - was the backend compiled with nvcc?) are explicitly checked.

• developer benefits

  • Preconditions assured with explicit internal checks help developer clarity, and accelerate debugging.

• security benefits

  • Invalid build configurations are caught at compile-time, which avoids their manifestation as runtime bugs.
  • Defensive design means many bugs are detected early, and do not silently sabotage user results.

• user benefits

  • Invalid user build configurations are reported immediately during compilation, with clear error messages.

• potential issues

  • This may lead to excessive boilerplate in some sources (e.g. gpu.cpp).

[TysonRayJones]

Added in 9fcb5eb