can't happen
<programming> The traditional program comment for code executed under a
condition that should never be true, for example a file size computed as
negative. Often, such a condition being true indicates data corruption or a
faulty algorithm; it is almost always handled by emitting a fatal error message
and terminating or crashing, since there is little else that can be done.
Some case variant of "can't happen" is also often the text emitted if the
"impossible" error actually happens. Although "can't happen" events are
genuinely infrequent in production code, programmers wise enough to check for
them habitually are often surprised at how frequently they are triggered during
development and how many headaches checking for them turns out to head off.
See also firewall code, professional programming.
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-10)
Nearby terms:
canonical name « canonicity « C (ANSI) « can't
happen
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