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Along similar lines, assertions should not be used for argument-checking in public methods. Argument-checking is typically part of the contract of a method, and this contract must be upheld whether assertions are enabled or disabled.

Another problem with using assertions for argument checking is that erroneous arguments should result in an appropriate runtime exception (such as IllegalArgumentException, IndexOutOfBoundsException or NullPointerException). An assertion failure will not throw an appropriate exception. Again, it is not illegal to use assertions for argument checking on public methods, but it is generally inappropriate.

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