Convert Undefined to 0 using JavaScript
Borislav Hadzhiev
Thu Dec 23 2021·2 min read
Photo by Warren Wong
Convert Undefined to 0 using JavaScript #
Use the ternary operator to convert an undefined value to zero, e.g.
const result = val === undefined ? 0 : val. If the value is equal to
undefined, the operator returns 0, otherwise the value is returned.
let val = undefined; val = val === undefined ? 0 : val; console.log(val); // 👉️ 0
The
ternary operator
is very similar to an if/else statement.
The truthy values are all values that are not falsy.
The falsy values in JavaScript are undefined, undefined, false, 0, ""
(empty string), NaN (not a number).
val variable stores an undefined value, the expression before the question mark evaluates to true, so the ternary operator returns 0.If the expression returns false, we return the value stored in the val
variable.
An alternative approach is to use a simple if statement.
let val = undefined; if (val === undefined) { val = 0; } console.log(val); // 👉️ 0
Declaring the val variable with the let keyword allows us to reassign it if
the stored value is equal to undefined.
While this approach is a little more verbose, it's still easy to read and intuitive.
Alternatively, you can use the logical OR (||) operator.
let val = undefined; val = val || 0; console.log(val); // 👉️ 0
The logical OR (||) operator returns the value to the right if the value to the left is falsy.
undefined, we check that the value is falsy. So it could be an empty string, null, NaN, etc.An easy way to think about it is - the value to the right of the operator is a fallback in case the value to the left is falsy.
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