Smart coding: selector operator in JS

What is Smart coding?#

Smart coding is coding the logic in precise, consice and readable at the sametime maintainable manner.

I like to stree the above meaning in all the upcoming post under this series (Yes, you can expect more coming up) ^_^.

Selector Operator( || )#

Yes, I like calling it selector operator as per its usuage.

function greet(name) {
	name = name || 'guest'
	console.log(`Hello ${name}`)
}

greet('Ashkeys') // Hello Ashkeys

We can achieve the same using the following approach too.

function greet(name = 'guest') {
	console.log(`Hello ${name}`)
}

greet('Ashkeys') // Hello Ashkeys

The problem with the default argument value approach is that it will fail for empty string or null value.

greet(null) // Hello null
greet('') // Hello

So, prefer the selector operator over the default argument value assignment.

We can also call a function or evaluate an expression to determine the default value like name = name || determineDefaultName(); \O/