ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Assertion (software development)

Hey there little buddy! Do you know what an assertion is in software development? An assertion is like a special tool that helps the software developers make sure everything is working just right. When a software developer is writing a computer program, they can use assertions to make sure that certain things are true or false.

Here's an example: Let's say a software developer is writing a program that needs to check if a person is old enough to vote. They can use an assertion to make sure that the person's age is over 18. If the person's age is under 18, the assertion will make the program stop and raise an alarm. This is really helpful because it catches mistakes before they make the program do something wrong.

In simpler terms, assertions are like a safety net that makes sure the computer program is doing what it's supposed to do. They help the software developer find any early mistakes that could cause problems later on. So the next time you hear someone talking about assertions in software development, you'll know that it's just a special tool to help make computer programs work better.