Understanding JavaScript Truthy and Falsy
From my understanding, I believe that var a = 1; is the only truthy and the rest are falsy’s - is this correct?
No.
var a = 0;
Number zero is falsy. However, note that the string zero
"0"
is truthy.var a = 10 == 5;
This is same as
var a = (10 == 5);
, so this is falsy.var a = 1;
var a = -1;
Any non-zero number including negative numbers is truthy.
Quoting from MDN
In JavaScript, a truthy value is a value that translates to true when evaluated in a Boolean context. All values are truthy unless they are defined as falsy (i.e., except for
false
,0
,""
,null
,undefined
, andNaN
).
List of falsy values in JavaScript:From MDN
false
null
undefined
0
NaN
''
,""
,``
(Empty template string)document.all
0n
: BigInt-0
There's a simple way to check, which you can use now and forever:
function truthyOrFalsy(a) {
return a ? "truthy" : "falsy";
}
To wit:
> truthyOrFalsy(0)
"falsy"
> truthyOrFalsy(10 == 5)
"falsy"
> truthyOrFalsy(1)
"truthy"
> truthyOrFalsy(-1)
"truthy"
Also see a list of all falsey values in JavaScript.
Truthy -> Value that resolve to true in boolean context
Falsy -> Value that resolve to false in boolean context
For better understanding, `falsy` values are given below.
false
0
empty string
null
undefined
NaN