This code snippet demonstrates an incorrect usage of the ||
operator as a coalescing operator. As previously mentioned, it will always result in true
. However, consider a scenario where display
is a string instead of a boolean.
var result = display || "(none)";
In this case, the above line of code will return either the value of display
, or if display
is not set, it will return "(none)"
.
This behavior leverages the fact that in JavaScript, both undefined
and null
are evaluated as false
. Therefore, when a value is not assigned, using ||
allows for the fallback value to be returned - since the left operand is false, the evaluation results in the right value being returned, regardless of its content.
The individual who wrote this code snippet likely copied it from legacy code or a JavaScript resource without fully grasping the underlying mechanics and limitations. It's essential to understand that values like false
and 0
are also treated as falsy in JavaScript, leading to the unexpected outcome of always receiving true
in your specific case.
It's important to note that extraInfo || false
does function as intended. The issue lies specifically with the true
part causing the problem. To rectify this, you can simply utilize:
if (!(display === false))
By employing a type-sensitive comparison here, if display
is undefined, it will evaluate to false, providing the default true
. Conversely, if display
is explicitly set to true
, it will return true
; and if display
is set to false
, it will result in !true
, which is false
.