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Boolean conditionals with placeholder [duplicate]

Is there a string.Empty in JavaScript, or is it just a case of checking for ""?

Empty string, undefined, null, ...
To check for a truthy value:
if (strValue) {
// strValue was non-empty string, true, 42, Infinity, [], ...
}
To check for a falsy value:
if (!strValue) {
// strValue was empty string, false, 0, null, undefined, ...
}
Empty string (only!)
To check for exactly an empty string, compare for strict equality against "" using the === operator:
if (strValue === "") {
// strValue was empty string
}
To check for not an empty string strictly, use the !== operator:
if (strValue !== "") {
// strValue was not an empty string
}

For checking if a variable is falsey or if it has length attribute equal to zero (which for a string, means it is empty), I use:
function isEmpty(str) {
return (!str || str.length === 0 );
}
(Note that strings aren't the only variables with a length attribute, arrays have them as well, for example.)
Alternativaly, you can use the (not so) newly optional chaining and arrow functions to simplify:
const isEmpty = (str) => (!str?.length);
It will check the length, returning undefined in case of a nullish value, without throwing an error. In the case of an empty value, zero is falsy and the result is still valid.
For checking if a variable is falsey or if the string only contains whitespace or is empty, I use:
function isBlank(str) {
return (!str || /^\s*$/.test(str));
}
If you want, you can monkey-patch the String prototype like this:
String.prototype.isEmpty = function() {
// This doesn't work the same way as the isEmpty function used
// in the first example, it will return true for strings containing only whitespace
return (this.length === 0 || !this.trim());
};
console.log("example".isEmpty());
Note that monkey-patching built-in types are controversial, as it can break code that depends on the existing structure of built-in types, for whatever reason.

All the previous answers are good, but this will be even better. Use dual NOT operators (!!):
if (!!str) {
// Some code here
}
Or use type casting:
if (Boolean(str)) {
// Code here
}
Both do the same function. Typecast the variable to Boolean, where str is a variable.
It returns false for null, undefined, 0, 000, "", false.
It returns true for all string values other than the empty string (including strings like "0" and " ")

The closest thing you can get to str.Empty (with the precondition that str is a String) is:
if (!str.length) { ...

If you need to make sure that the string is not just a bunch of empty spaces (I'm assuming this is for form validation) you need to do a replace on the spaces.
if(str.replace(/\s/g,"") == ""){
}

I use:
function empty(e) {
switch (e) {
case "":
case 0:
case "0":
case null:
case false:
case undefined:
return true;
default:
return false;
}
}
empty(null) // true
empty(0) // true
empty(7) // false
empty("") // true
empty((function() {
return ""
})) // false

Performance
I perform tests on macOS v10.13.6 (High Sierra) for 18 chosen solutions. Solutions works slightly different (for corner-case input data) which was presented in the snippet below.
Conclusions
the simple solutions based on !str,==,=== and length are fast for all browsers (A,B,C,G,I,J)
the solutions based on the regular expression (test,replace) and charAt are slowest for all browsers (H,L,M,P)
the solutions marked as fastest was fastest only for one test run - but in many runs it changes inside 'fast' solutions group
Details
In the below snippet I compare results of chosen 18 methods by use different input parameters
"" "a" " "- empty string, string with letter and string with space
[] {} f- array, object and function
0 1 NaN Infinity - numbers
true false - Boolean
null undefined
Not all tested methods support all input cases.
function A(str) {
let r=1;
if (!str)
r=0;
return r;
}
function B(str) {
let r=1;
if (str == "")
r=0;
return r;
}
function C(str) {
let r=1;
if (str === "")
r=0;
return r;
}
function D(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str || 0 === str.length)
r=0;
return r;
}
function E(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str || /^\s*$/.test(str))
r=0;
return r;
}
function F(str) {
let r=1;
if(!Boolean(str))
r=0;
return r;
}
function G(str) {
let r=1;
if(! ((typeof str != 'undefined') && str) )
r=0;
return r;
}
function H(str) {
let r=1;
if(!/\S/.test(str))
r=0;
return r;
}
function I(str) {
let r=1;
if (!str.length)
r=0;
return r;
}
function J(str) {
let r=1;
if(str.length <= 0)
r=0;
return r;
}
function K(str) {
let r=1;
if(str.length === 0 || !str.trim())
r=0;
return r;
}
function L(str) {
let r=1;
if ( str.replace(/\s/g,"") == "")
r=0;
return r;
}
function M(str) {
let r=1;
if((/^\s*$/).test(str))
r=0;
return r;
}
function N(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str || !str.trim().length)
r=0;
return r;
}
function O(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str || !str.trim())
r=0;
return r;
}
function P(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str.charAt(0))
r=0;
return r;
}
function Q(str) {
let r=1;
if(!str || (str.trim()==''))
r=0;
return r;
}
function R(str) {
let r=1;
if (typeof str == 'undefined' ||
!str ||
str.length === 0 ||
str === "" ||
!/[^\s]/.test(str) ||
/^\s*$/.test(str) ||
str.replace(/\s/g,"") === "")
r=0;
return r;
}
// --- TEST ---
console.log( ' "" "a" " " [] {} 0 1 NaN Infinity f true false null undefined ');
let log1 = (s,f)=> console.log(`${s}: ${f("")} ${f("a")} ${f(" ")} ${f([])} ${f({})} ${f(0)} ${f(1)} ${f(NaN)} ${f(Infinity)} ${f(f)} ${f(true)} ${f(false)} ${f(null)} ${f(undefined)}`);
let log2 = (s,f)=> console.log(`${s}: ${f("")} ${f("a")} ${f(" ")} ${f([])} ${f({})} ${f(0)} ${f(1)} ${f(NaN)} ${f(Infinity)} ${f(f)} ${f(true)} ${f(false)}`);
let log3 = (s,f)=> console.log(`${s}: ${f("")} ${f("a")} ${f(" ")}`);
log1('A', A);
log1('B', B);
log1('C', C);
log1('D', D);
log1('E', E);
log1('F', F);
log1('G', G);
log1('H', H);
log2('I', I);
log2('J', J);
log3('K', K);
log3('L', L);
log3('M', M);
log3('N', N);
log3('O', O);
log3('P', P);
log3('Q', Q);
log3('R', R);
And then for all methods I perform speed test case str = "" for browsers Chrome v78.0.0, Safari v13.0.4, and Firefox v71.0.0 - you can run tests on your machine here

You can use lodash:
_.isEmpty(value).
It covers a lot of cases like {}, '', null, undefined, etc.
But it always returns true for Number type of JavaScript primitive data types like _.isEmpty(10) or _.isEmpty(Number.MAX_VALUE) both returns true.

Very generic "All-In-One" Function (not recommended though):
function is_empty(x)
{
return ( //don't put newline after return
(typeof x == 'undefined')
||
(x == null)
||
(x == false) //same as: !x
||
(x.length == 0)
||
(x == 0) // note this line, you might not need this.
||
(x == "")
||
(x.replace(/\s/g,"") == "")
||
(!/[^\s]/.test(x))
||
(/^\s*$/.test(x))
);
}
However, I don't recommend to use that, because your target variable should be of specific type (i.e. string, or numeric, or object?), so apply the checks that are relative to that variable.

var s; // undefined
var s = ""; // ""
s.length // 0
There's nothing representing an empty string in JavaScript. Do a check against either length (if you know that the var will always be a string) or against ""

Try:
if (str && str.trim().length) {
//...
}

I would not worry too much about the most efficient method. Use what is most clear to your intention. For me that's usually strVar == "".
As per the comment from Constantin, if strVar could some how end up containing an integer 0 value, then that would indeed be one of those intention-clarifying situations.

A lot of answers, and a lot of different possibilities!
Without a doubt for quick and simple implementation the winner is: if (!str.length) {...}
However, as many other examples are available. The best functional method to go about this, I would suggest:
function empty(str)
{
if (typeof str == 'undefined' || !str || str.length === 0 || str === "" || !/[^\s]/.test(str) || /^\s*$/.test(str) || str.replace(/\s/g,"") === "")
return true;
else
return false;
}
A bit excessive, I know.

check that var a; exist
trim out the false spaces in the value, then test for emptiness
if ((a)&&(a.trim()!=''))
{
// if variable a is not empty do this
}

You could also go with regular expressions:
if((/^\s*$/).test(str)) { }
Checks for strings that are either empty or filled with whitespace.

I usually use something like this,
if (!str.length) {
// Do something
}

Also, in case you consider a whitespace filled string as "empty".
You can test it with this regular expression:
!/\S/.test(string); // Returns true if blank.

If one needs to detect not only empty but also blank strings, I'll add to Goral's answer:
function isEmpty(s){
return !s.length;
}
function isBlank(s){
return isEmpty(s.trim());
}

if ((str?.trim()?.length || 0) > 0) {
// str must not be any of:
// undefined
// null
// ""
// " " or just whitespace
}
Or in function form:
const isNotNilOrWhitespace = input => (input?.trim()?.length || 0) > 0;
const isNilOrWhitespace = input => (input?.trim()?.length || 0) === 0;

Starting with:
return (!value || value == undefined || value == "" || value.length == 0);
Looking at the last condition, if value == "", its length must be 0. Therefore drop it:
return (!value || value == undefined || value == "");
But wait! In JavaScript, an empty string is false. Therefore, drop value == "":
return (!value || value == undefined);
And !undefined is true, so that check isn't needed. So we have:
return (!value);
And we don't need parentheses:
return !value

I use a combination, and the fastest checks are first.
function isBlank(pString) {
if (!pString) {
return true;
}
// Checks for a non-white space character
// which I think [citation needed] is faster
// than removing all the whitespace and checking
// against an empty string
return !/[^\s]+/.test(pString);
}

I have not noticed an answer that takes into account the possibility of null characters in a string. For example, if we have a null character string:
var y = "\0"; // an empty string, but has a null character
(y === "") // false, testing against an empty string does not work
(y.length === 0) // false
(y) // true, this is also not expected
(y.match(/^[\s]*$/)) // false, again not wanted
To test its nullness one could do something like this:
String.prototype.isNull = function(){
return Boolean(this.match(/^[\0]*$/));
}
...
"\0".isNull() // true
It works on a null string, and on an empty string and it is accessible for all strings. In addition, it could be expanded to contain other JavaScript empty or whitespace characters (i.e. nonbreaking space, byte order mark, line/paragraph separator, etc.).

Meanwhile we can have one function that checks for all 'empties' like null, undefined, '', ' ', {}, [].
So I just wrote this.
var isEmpty = function(data) {
if(typeof(data) === 'object'){
if(JSON.stringify(data) === '{}' || JSON.stringify(data) === '[]'){
return true;
}else if(!data){
return true;
}
return false;
}else if(typeof(data) === 'string'){
if(!data.trim()){
return true;
}
return false;
}else if(typeof(data) === 'undefined'){
return true;
}else{
return false;
}
}
Use cases and results.
console.log(isEmpty()); // true
console.log(isEmpty(null)); // true
console.log(isEmpty('')); // true
console.log(isEmpty(' ')); // true
console.log(isEmpty(undefined)); // true
console.log(isEmpty({})); // true
console.log(isEmpty([])); // true
console.log(isEmpty(0)); // false
console.log(isEmpty('Hey')); // false

I did some research on what happens if you pass a non-string and non-empty/null value to a tester function. As many know, (0 == "") is true in JavaScript, but since 0 is a value and not empty or null, you may want to test for it.
The following two functions return true only for undefined, null, empty/whitespace values and false for everything else, such as numbers, Boolean, objects, expressions, etc.
function IsNullOrEmpty(value)
{
return (value == null || value === "");
}
function IsNullOrWhiteSpace(value)
{
return (value == null || !/\S/.test(value));
}
More complicated examples exists, but these are simple and give consistent results. There is no need to test for undefined, since it's included in (value == null) check. You may also mimic C# behaviour by adding them to String like this:
String.IsNullOrEmpty = function (value) { ... }
You do not want to put it in Strings prototype, because if the instance of the String-class is null, it will error:
String.prototype.IsNullOrEmpty = function (value) { ... }
var myvar = null;
if (1 == 2) { myvar = "OK"; } // Could be set
myvar.IsNullOrEmpty(); // Throws error
I tested with the following value array. You can loop it through to test your functions if in doubt.
// Helper items
var MyClass = function (b) { this.a = "Hello World!"; this.b = b; };
MyClass.prototype.hello = function () { if (this.b == null) { alert(this.a); } else { alert(this.b); } };
var z;
var arr = [
// 0: Explanation for printing, 1: actual value
['undefined', undefined],
['(var) z', z],
['null', null],
['empty', ''],
['space', ' '],
['tab', '\t'],
['newline', '\n'],
['carriage return', '\r'],
['"\\r\\n"', '\r\n'],
['"\\n\\r"', '\n\r'],
['" \\t \\n "', ' \t \n '],
['" txt \\t test \\n"', ' txt \t test \n'],
['"txt"', "txt"],
['"undefined"', 'undefined'],
['"null"', 'null'],
['"0"', '0'],
['"1"', '1'],
['"1.5"', '1.5'],
['"1,5"', '1,5'], // Valid number in some locales, not in JavaScript
['comma', ','],
['dot', '.'],
['".5"', '.5'],
['0', 0],
['0.0', 0.0],
['1', 1],
['1.5', 1.5],
['NaN', NaN],
['/\S/', /\S/],
['true', true],
['false', false],
['function, returns true', function () { return true; } ],
['function, returns false', function () { return false; } ],
['function, returns null', function () { return null; } ],
['function, returns string', function () { return "test"; } ],
['function, returns undefined', function () { } ],
['MyClass', MyClass],
['new MyClass', new MyClass()],
['empty object', {}],
['non-empty object', { a: "a", match: "bogus", test: "bogus"}],
['object with toString: string', { a: "a", match: "bogus", test: "bogus", toString: function () { return "test"; } }],
['object with toString: null', { a: "a", match: "bogus", test: "bogus", toString: function () { return null; } }]
];

I didn't see a good answer here (at least not an answer that fits for me)
So I decided to answer myself:
value === undefined || value === null || value === "";
You need to start checking if it's undefined. Otherwise your method can explode, and then you can check if it equals null or is equal to an empty string.
You cannot have !! or only if(value) since if you check 0 it's going to give you a false answer (0 is false).
With that said, wrap it up in a method like:
public static isEmpty(value: any): boolean {
return value === undefined || value === null || value === "";
}
PS.: You don't need to check typeof, since it would explode and throw even before it enters the method

Trimming whitespace with the null-coalescing operator:
if (!str?.trim()) {
// do something...
}

There is a lot of useful information here, but in my opinion, one of the most important elements was not addressed.
null, undefined, and "" are all falsy.
When evaluating for an empty string, it's often because you need to replace it with something else.
In which case, you can expect the following behavior.
var a = ""
var b = null
var c = undefined
console.log(a || "falsy string provided") // prints ->"falsy string provided"
console.log(b || "falsy string provided") // prints ->"falsy string provided"
console.log(c || "falsy string provided") // prints ->"falsy string provided"
With that in mind, a method or function that can return whether or not a string is "", null, or undefined (an invalid string) versus a valid string is as simple as this:
const validStr = (str) => str ? true : false
validStr(undefined) // returns false
validStr(null) // returns false
validStr("") // returns false
validStr("My String") // returns true

Try this:
export const isEmpty = string => (!string || !string.length);

All these answers are nice.
But I cannot be sure that variable is a string, doesn't contain only spaces (this is important for me), and can contain '0' (string).
My version:
function empty(str){
return !str || !/[^\s]+/.test(str);
}
empty(null); // true
empty(0); // true
empty(7); // false
empty(""); // true
empty("0"); // false
empty(" "); // true
Sample on jsfiddle.

There's no isEmpty() method, you have to check for the type and the length:
if (typeof test === 'string' && test.length === 0){
...
The type check is needed in order to avoid runtime errors when test is undefined or null.

How to compare values in JavaScript?

How do I compare values in JavaScript?
My code below should alert "2" but it does not work.
var test_val = "TWO";
if(test_val = "ONE")
{
alert("1");
}
else if(test_val = "TWO")
{
alert("2");
}

You have to use comparison operators (==, ===, !=, !==). The == and != are type insensitive and performs an implicit cast on the second operand. The === and !== operands are performing type sensitive comparison that includes type checking.
var test_val = "TWO";
if(test_val === "ONE")
{
alert("1");
}
else if(test_val === "TWO")
{
alert("2");
}
Type Sensitive
//1 === "1" false
//1 === 1 true
//1 !== "1" true
//1 !== 1 false
Type Insensitive
//1 == "1" true
//1 == 1 true
//1 == 2 false
//1 == "2" false

A single = is assignment (Used for setting values)
A double == is used for comparing and will return true/false.
A triple === is used to compare value and type. will return true/false only if the values and types match.

The best ANSWER to this is that whenever you do comparison you CANNOT use = inside the parenthesis. You can use either == or === depending on what you want to compare. Here's what you can do:
var test_val = "TWO";
if(test_val == "ONE")
{
alert("1");
}
else if(test_val == "TWO")
{
alert("2");
}

= is Assignment operator.
use == Relational Operator.
Reference:
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/java_basic_operators.htm

A quick way to test equality of more than 2 values at once?

I was wondering if there was a quick way to test the equality of more than two values in js. Something similar to (= 6 6 6).
In the console, I tried things like...
1 == 1 == 1 == 1
true
2 == 2 == 2 == 2
false
0 == 0 == 0
false
0 == 0 == 0 == 0
true
...which was amusing, but also puzzling.
Is there a quick way of doing this in js?
Thanks.

The reason you got unexpected behavior is because we need to adjust your expectations in js a bit ;) 2 == 2 == 2 == 2 does 3 comparisons, all from left to right. The first comparison is the leftmost 2 == 2, which evaluates to true. After that we get the result of the first comparison being compared to (what is in this case) the 3rd 2. Ie, true === 2, which is false. And finally, we get false === 2, which is also false.
It might help to visualize it as such:
(((2 == 2) == 2) == 2)
I think in general a === b && b === c might be what you're looking for.
EDIT: Ah, and sorry I keep switching out the == for ===. It's just habit. And it's a habit I'd recommend. the === operator doesn't do type casting, so it evaluates the value proper, not a casted version of the value.

It's because true == 1 but true != 2
You can try:
function isEquals() {
var flag = true;
for(var i=1; i<arguments.length; i++) flag = flag && (arguments[i] == arguments[0]);
return flag;
}
isEquals(2,2,2); // true
or:
function isEquals() {
var ar = arguments;
return Array.prototype.every.call(arguments, function(a){return a==ar[0];});
}

Yes you can, but you need to use the "Logical Operators" like the && or || to check more than 1 statement like (x<1 && y>0).
You can use this as a quick easy reference:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Logical_Operators

If you have more than three values, it might be more convenient to create a function for use on an array:
function allEqual(arr) {
return arr.every(function (x, i) {
return i === 0 || x === arr[i - 1];
});
}
allEqual([1, 1, 1])
ES6:
function allEqual(...arr) {
return arr.every((x, i) => i === 0 || x === arr[i - 1]);
}
allEqual(1, 1, 1)

As an addition to #vp_arth's answer you could even add a method to the Array prototype
Array.prototype.isHomogeneous = function(){
return Array.prototype.every.call(this, function(c,i,a){ return c === a[0];})
}
So you could do
[1,2,3].isHomogeneous() = false
[1,1,1].isHomogeneous() = true

optional arguments and default value

I am new to javascript does the following 2 functions does the same thing and would you pick one over another?
var multiply = function(arg1, arg2) {
arg1 && (arg1 = 0);
arg2 && (arg2 = 0);
return arg1*arg2;
}
var multiply = function(arg1, arg2) {
arg1 = arg1 || 0;
arg2 = arg2 || 0;
return arg1*arg2;
}
the reason i am asking is i saw something like this for the first time
function(path, limit) {
var ref = firebaseRef(path);
limit && (ref = ref.limit(limit)); //if i understood correctly this line does an assignment based on condition without an if statement
return $firebase(ref);
}

function(path, limit) {
var ref = firebaseRef(path);
limit && (ref = ref.limit(limit)); // Important
return $firebase(ref);
}
The Important line, can be written like this
if (limit) {
ref = ref.limit(limit);
}
But if you wanted to write it like the first way, you would have done,
ref = limit && ref.limit(limit)
This has one problem, when limit is Falsy && immediately returns the evaluated Falsy value of limit, so ref is Falsy now. You wouldn't have wanted this, I believe.
At the end of the day, as a programmer, readability and maintainability of the code of the code what we write matters. So, I would recommend using an explicit if check, which I mentioned at the beginning of the answer.
Note: Also, as noted by others, the first multiply should have been like this
var multiply = function(arg1, arg2) {
arg1 || (arg1 = 0);
arg2 || (arg2 = 0);
return arg1 * arg2;
}
Even better, I would have written it like this
var multiply = function(arg1, arg2) {
return (arg1 || 0) * (arg2 || 0);
}

Both are variable assignments which evaluate differently on the logical operation.
For example expr1 && expr2 will return expr1 if expr1 returns false otherwise the variable assignment will evaluate to the second expression (i.e. expr2).
Using the logical-or operation will return expr1 if it evaluates to true, otherwise it will return expr2.
Consider the following:
// Logical AND
var a1 = true && true; // t && t returns true
var a2 = true && false; // t && f returns false
var a3 = false && true; // f && t returns false
var a4 = false && (3 == 4); // f && f returns false
var a5 = "Cat" && "Dog"; // t && t returns Dog
var a6 = false && "Cat"; // f && t returns false
var a7 = "Cat" && false; // t && f returns false
// Logical OR
var o1 = true || true; // t || t returns true
var o2 = false || true; // f || t returns true
var o3 = true || false; // t || f returns true
var o4 = false || (3 == 4); // f || f returns false
var o5 = "Cat" || "Dog"; // t || t returns Cat
var o6 = false || "Cat"; // f || t returns Cat
var o7 = "Cat" || false; // t || f returns Cat
For more information, see: Mozilla Developer Network on Logical Operator Expressions

I think the first one will actually do the opposite of what you want. Let's test this with a few cases:
arg1 && (arg1 = 0);
If arg1 is 0, or any other falsy value, so the execution goes as follows:
0 (meaning false) AND an assignment. The expression will immediately return false without executing the arg1 = 0 statement, because false || (t/f) always returns false.
If arg1 is 1, or any other truthy value, so we have:
1 (meaning true) AND an assignment. The assignment will run this time, because it has to see what the second condition returns. Therefore, arg1 will be set to 0.
The correct snippet is the second.

Should I use !== or ==! when checking for not equal?

Should I use !== or ==!? Both work, but what is the standard?
I enter "else" for both cases:
var x;
if (x !== undefined)
{
alert("if..");
}
else
{
alert('else..') // <--- here
}
var y;
if (y ==! undefined)
{
alert("if..");
}
else
{
alert('else..') // <--- here
}

==! is not a comparison operator in Javascript. When you write foo ==! bar, you are actually writing foo == !bar, using the unary ! negation operator and the binary == comparison operator. This probably does not do what you want it to:
> 'b' ==! 'a'
false
> 'b' !== 'a'
true
This happens to "work" in the particular situation you describe because !undefined evaluates to true, and y == true for undefined y is false, thus putting you on the else branch.

if (x !== undefined)
checks if x is not undefined, while
if (y ==! undefined)
negates undefiend (which returns !undefined == true) and then checks it for equality with y