[$] GMP and assert()

A report of a potential security problem in the GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic (GMP)library was met with a mixed reaction, from skepticism to responses verging on hostility, but the report ultimatelyraised a question worth pondering. What role should assertions(i.e. calls to the POSIX assert()macro)play in error handling? An assertion that fails leads to a process exit, which may not be what adeveloper calling into a library expects. Unexpected behavior is, ofcourse, one step on a path that can lead to security holes.