If it's to be determined whether or not the code is being compiled in debug or release mode, i.e. e.g. the dmd -release or -g options, which version identifier is supposed to be used ?

There's no release identifier and -debug switch and debug() condition are something else.

There's assert - Checks are being emitted for AssertExpressions. With the exception for assert(0), those checks are omitted in release mode so this could be used for that purpose, right?

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 09:18:08 UTC, wjoe wrote:

I don't think it would make much sense to have a version(release), as there's really no such thing as a "release mode", or a "debug mode" either. -release is just a shorthand to disable certain features that you can also disable individually, and -debug means whatever you want it to mean.

Given that we have version(assert) and version(D_NoBoundsChecks), it probably makes sense to also have equivalents to test if contracts are enabled, or if bounds checking is enabled only in safe code. Then you'd be able to cover all the bases that -release does. Sounds like a candidate for an enhancement request.

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 10:08:12 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:

Thanks, that helps a lot.

I agree about release and debug modes. It got stuck in my mind when I used Visual Studio years ago which, at least at the time, created a Debug and Release configuration by default.

Could you elaborate on version(assert) a bit more, please ? Like I compiled with -release, -g and without the 2 options but the assert branch was always taken. Could it be that -unittest has something to do with it ?

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 10:43:01 UTC, wjoe wrote:

Yes, -unittest overrides -release and enables asserts. -check=assert=off overrides both.

I agree with Adam about avoiding -release. -debug is useful. -release, not so much since we have finer control over enabling/disabling checks these days.

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 11:01:56 UTC, Adam D Ruppe wrote:

This is good advice. Actually I had no intention to use the -release option.
My question was aimed at getting an understanding of the different version identifiers and how they are affected by the command line options in order to be able to pick one that reflects the users expectations.
My wording should have been better. Sorry for the confusion.

However isn't the point of using version identifiers and these options to actually change the behavior of the program ?
I mean if bounds checking is enabled I expect the program to behave differently, i.e. to abort if something is out of bounds.

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 11:54:38 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:

It is sort of embarassing reading this after one night's sleep.
But the lesson learned was well worth it, thanks :)

So in light of all of this what I was looking for is D_NoBoundsChecks which you mentioned initially.