Is there a better way to check for a null and assign a value?

Question

Is there a better / smarter way to do this?

theTitle = responsesToUse[i]["Title"];

if(theTitle == null)
  theTitle = "";

Does this answer your question? [When should I use ?? (nullish coalescing) vs || (logical OR)?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/61480993/when-should-i-use-nullish-coalescing-vs-logical-or) — ask4you, Nov 16 '22 at 11:41

ask4you · Answer 1 · 2022-11-16T11:41:17.437

3

You can use the nullish coalescing operator. Returns the right side if the left side is null or undefined:

const theTitle = responsesToUse[i]["Title"] ?? "Default value";

Additionally you can use the logical or operator. It will check if left value is falsy and return the right side:

const theTitle = responsesToUse[i]["Title"] || "Default value";

edited Nov 16 '22 at 11:41

answered Nov 16 '22 at 11:34

ask4you

the _falsy_ check is misleading in this case, because it can misinterpret valid `0` or `""` values. – PA. Nov 17 '22 at 11:23

Zeephyros · Answer 2 · 2022-11-16T11:34:45.110

-1

theTitle = responsesToUse[i]["Title"] ?? "";

edited Nov 16 '22 at 11:34

answered Nov 16 '22 at 11:32

Zeephyros

2

code only answers and code with typos are not helpful. – PA. Nov 16 '22 at 11:34

Manish Kumar · Answer 3 · 2022-11-16T11:56:58.217

-1

Logical OR operator can be used:

const theTitle = responsesToUse?.[i]?.["Title"] || "";

use ?. to check if the required index/ property exist in the source, else fallback to right side value.

Hope that helps.

edited Nov 16 '22 at 11:56

answered Nov 16 '22 at 11:36

Manish Kumar

probably the downvoter thought that the falsy check is misleading in this case, because it can misinterpret valid 0 or "" values. – PA. Nov 17 '22 at 11:26

3 Answers3