Two assertion mechanisms

[Vort]

Please explain why Bochs code uses both assert() and BX_ASSERT() macros.
What is the logic behind choosing one or another option?

I'm asking because I was surprised to see asserts disabled in MSVC Debug builds.
But in case of turning them on, should BX_ASSERTs be turned on as well or not?

[stlintel]

I didn't know classic C++ assert can be disabled for speed.
BX_ASSERT was invented to be enabled in developer build but disabled in release s.t. it won't affect simulation speed.

[Vort]

I didn't know classic C++ assert can be disabled for speed.

This is what NDEBUG define does here and in similar places:

Bochs/bochs/build/win32/vs2019-workspace/vs2019/bochs.vcxproj

Lines 140 to 142 in 5147c20

	<Optimization>Disabled</Optimization>
	<AdditionalIncludeDirectories>.\..;..\instrument\stubs;%(AdditionalIncludeDirectories)</AdditionalIncludeDirectories>
	<PreprocessorDefinitions>WIN32;_DEBUG;_CONSOLE;_WINDOWS;NDEBUG;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>

(I disabled NDEBUG for this screenshot)

BX_ASSERT was invented to be enabled in developer build but disabled in release s.t. it won't affect simulation speed.

Can the same logic be applied to assert?
I think it is better to get rid of NDEBUG in Debug builds, this is how MSVC projects are usually configured.

[stlintel]

This NDEBUG is not present in gcc and I even don't use MSVCPP.
So I think you can get rid of NDEBUG if you want :)

I coded it with the state of mind like this:
Some asserts are really critical and must be done always and never disabled. These are classic assert().
Others affect performance too much or not interesting outside of new code development -> these are BX_ASSERT

[Vort]

So I think you can get rid of NDEBUG if you want :)

Ok, I made PR with this change: #158