Logical Assignment Operators

By  on  

I love JavaScript, it's my favorite programming language, but I love dipping into other languages because they offer a new perspective on coding paradigms. There've been syntax additions to JavaScript that I've seen I found interesting (think ?? in optional chaining) and now we get more -- logical assignment operators. Let's check out how they can be used!

||=

Or-Or-Equals is used to assign a value when one doesn't exist:

let name;
const defaultName = "Guest";

name ||= defaultName;
// name >> "Guest"

// Equivalent: name || (name = defaultName);

??=

Question-Question-Equals assigns value when the value is undefined:

const j = 1;
j??= 10
// j >> 1

x = undefined;
x ??= 10
// x >> 10

&&=

And-And-Equals assigns value to the last in line when both are defined:

let name;
const defaultName = "Guest";

name &&= defaultName;
name >> undefined

// Both have values
let name = "David";
const defaultName = "Guest";

name &&= defaultName;
// name >> "Guest"

// Equivalent: name && (name = defaultName);

I do worry, at least in the short term, that this new syntax could be hard to maintain, but just like every other new language feature, we'll get used to it!

Recent Features

  • By
    JavaScript Promise API

    While synchronous code is easier to follow and debug, async is generally better for performance and flexibility. Why "hold up the show" when you can trigger numerous requests at once and then handle them when each is ready?  Promises are becoming a big part of the JavaScript world...

  • By
    5 Awesome New Mozilla Technologies You’ve Never Heard Of

    My trip to Mozilla Summit 2013 was incredible.  I've spent so much time focusing on my project that I had lost sight of all of the great work Mozillians were putting out.  MozSummit provided the perfect reminder of how brilliant my colleagues are and how much...

Incredible Demos

Discussion

    Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!