diff --git a/test/back_reference.cpp b/test/back_reference.cpp
index 98f79e50..c3c09e11 100644
--- a/test/back_reference.cpp
+++ b/test/back_reference.cpp
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ int X::counter;
 
 struct Y : X
 {
-    Y(PyObject* self, int x) : X(x) {};
-    Y(PyObject* self, Y const& rhs) : X(rhs), self(self) {};
+    Y(PyObject* self, int x) : X(x), self(self) {}
+    Y(PyObject* self, Y const& rhs) : X(rhs), self(self) {}
  private:
     Y(Y const&);
     PyObject* self;
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ struct Y : X
 
 struct Z : X
 {
-    Z(PyObject* self, int x) : X(x) {};
-    Z(PyObject* self, Z const& rhs) : X(rhs), self(self) {};
+    Z(PyObject* self, int x) : X(x), self(self) {}
+    Z(PyObject* self, Z const& rhs) : X(rhs), self(self) {}
  private:
     Z(Z const&);
     PyObject* self;
diff --git a/test/cltree.cpp b/test/cltree.cpp
index 4ebfb535..518ae37f 100755
--- a/test/cltree.cpp
+++ b/test/cltree.cpp
@@ -36,20 +36,20 @@ public:
 
 class symbol_wrapper: public symbol {
 public:
-  symbol_wrapper(PyObject* self): symbol() { 
+  symbol_wrapper(PyObject* /*self*/): symbol() { 
     name = "cltree.wrapped_symbol"; 
   }
 };
 
 class variable_wrapper: public variable {
 public:
-  variable_wrapper(PyObject* self): variable() { 
+  variable_wrapper(PyObject* /*self*/): variable() { 
     name = "cltree.wrapped_variable";
   }
 
   // This constructor is introduced only because cannot use
   // boost::noncopyable, see below.
-  variable_wrapper(PyObject* self,variable v): variable(v) {} 
+  variable_wrapper(PyObject* /*self*/,variable v): variable(v) {} 
 
 };
 
diff --git a/test/exception_translator.cpp b/test/exception_translator.cpp
index 741689a8..1e91c929 100644
--- a/test/exception_translator.cpp
+++ b/test/exception_translator.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 struct error {};
 
-void translate(error const& e)
+void translate(error const& /*e*/)
 {
     PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "!!!error!!!");
 }
diff --git a/test/extract.cpp b/test/extract.cpp
index f9c2232c..91c90f8e 100644
--- a/test/extract.cpp
+++ b/test/extract.cpp
@@ -29,8 +29,9 @@ boost::python::list extract_list(object x)
     // Make sure we always have the right idea about whether it's a list
     bool is_list_1 = get_list.check();
     bool is_list_2 = PyObject_IsInstance(x.ptr(), (PyObject*)&PyList_Type);
-    assert(is_list_1 == is_list_2);
-    
+    if (is_list_1 != is_list_2) {
+        throw std::runtime_error("is_list_1 == is_list_2 failure.");
+    }
     return get_list();
 }
 
@@ -131,7 +132,9 @@ BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(extract_ext)
 
     // Get the C++ object out of the Python object
     X const& x = extract<X&>(x_obj);
-    assert(x.value() == 3);
+    if (x.value() != 3) {
+        throw std::runtime_error("x.value() == 3 failure.");
+    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/test/numpy.cpp b/test/numpy.cpp
index 779858f1..4c7f0a12 100644
--- a/test/numpy.cpp
+++ b/test/numpy.cpp
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ object new_array()
 }
 
 // test argument conversion
-void take_array(numeric::array x)
+void take_array(numeric::array /*x*/)
 {
 }