A statement in code that declares a condition must be true at a specific point during execution. If the condition is false, the program typically stops with an error, helping developers catch bugs during development.
From Latin 'assertio' meaning 'a claiming or affirming.' In programming since the 1960s, borrowed from logic and mathematics where assertions state what must be true for a proof to be valid.
An assertion is like a reality check that says 'I'm so confident this should be true right now that if it's not, something has gone terribly wrong!' It's your code's way of double-checking its own assumptions and catching bugs before they cause bigger problems.
Women asserting authority historically coded as 'aggressive' or 'bossy'; men making identical assertions described as 'confident' or 'authoritative', creating asymmetric penalty.
Use 'statement', 'claim', or 'position' to describe speech acts neutrally; reserve judgment for evidence, not speaker gender.
["statement","claim","position","articulation"]
Women's advocacy movements reclaimed 'assertive' as strength; acknowledge that assertion is legitimate across genders.
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