The rule of thumb is that you should use assertions when you are trying to catch your own errors, and exceptions when trying to catch other people's errors. In other words, you should use exceptions to check the preconditions for the public API functions, and whenever you get any data that are external to your system. You should use asserts for the functions or data that are internal to your system.
与恶龙缠斗过久,自身亦成为恶龙；凝视深渊过久,深渊将回以凝视…
