Thursday, December 26, 2013

Boolean



Properties

Properties
Description
constructor
Specifies the function that created the object's prototype.
prototype
Allows you to define properties on the Boolean that is shared by all Boolean objects.

 Methods

Methods
Description
toString()
Returns a string specifying the value of the Boolean, in this case, "true" or "false."
valueOf()
Returns the primitive value of a Boolean object.

The Boolean object is an object wrapper for a boolean value.
new Boolean(value)

The value passed as the first parameter is converted to a boolean value, if necessary. If value is omitted or is 0, -0, null, false, NaN, undefined, or the empty string (""), the object has an initial value of false. All other values, including any object or the string "false", create an object with an initial value of true.
Do not confuse the primitive Boolean values true and false with the true and false values of the Boolean object.
Any object whose value is not undefined or null, including a Boolean object whose value is false, evaluates to true when passed to a conditional statement. For example, the condition in the following if statement evaluates to true:
x = new Boolean(false);
if (x) {
  // . . . this code is executed
}


This behavior does not apply to Boolean primitives. For example, the condition in the following if statement evaluates to false:
x = false;
if (x) {
  // . . . this code is not executed
}
Do not use a Boolean object to convert a non-boolean value to a boolean value. Instead, use Boolean as a function to perform this task:
x = Boolean(expression);     // preferred
x = new Boolean(expression); // don't use
If you specify any object, including a Boolean object whose value is false, as the initial value of a Boolean object, the new Boolean object has a value of true.
myFalse = new Boolean(false);   // initial value of false
g = new Boolean(myFalse);       // initial value of true
myString = new String("Hello"); // string object
s = new Boolean(myString);      // initial value of true
Do not use a Boolean object in place of a Boolean primitive.



Examples

Creating Boolean objects with an initial value of false
var bNoParam = new Boolean();
var bZero = new Boolean(0);
var bNull = new Boolean(null);
var bEmptyString = new Boolean("");
var bfalse = new Boolean(false);

Creating Boolean objects with an initial value of true
var btrue = new Boolean(true);
var btrueString = new Boolean("true");
var bfalseString = new Boolean("false");
var bSuLin = new Boolean("Su Lin");
var bntrue= new Boolean(-12);



The difference between Boolean Objects and Boolean Primitives in JavaScript

One of the unintuitive things about JavaScript is the fact that there are constructors for each of the primitive value types (boolean, string, etc), but what they construct isn't actually the same thing as the primitive.
Take booleans, for example. In most code, the primitive values are used, like so:
var primitiveTrue = true;
var primitiveFalse = false;

 
There is also the Boolean function, which can be used as an ordinary function which returns a boolean primitive:
var functionTrue = Boolean(true);
var functionFalse = Boolean(false);
 
But the Boolean function can also be used as a constructor with the new keyword:
var constructorTrue = new Boolean(true);
var constructorFalse = new Boolean(false);

The tricky thing here is that when Boolean is used as a constructor, it doesn't return a primitive. Instead it returns an object.
// Outputs: true
console.log(primitiveTrue);

// Outputs: true
console.log(functionTrue);

// Outputs: Boolean {}
console.log(constructorTrue);
 
It turns out that using the Boolean constructor can be quite dangerous. Why? Well, JavaScript is pretty aggressive about type coercion. If you try adding a string and a number, the number will be coerced into a string.
// Outputs: "22"
console.log("2" + 2);
 
Likewise, if you try to use an object in a context that expects a boolean value, the object will be coerced to true.
// Outputs: "Objects coerce to true."
if ({}) { console.log("Objects coerce to true."); }
 
And since the Boolean object is an object, it will also coerce to true, even if its internal value is false.
// Outputs: "My false Boolean object is truthy!"
if (constructorFalse) {
    console.log("My false Boolean object is truthy!");
} else {
    console.log("My false Boolean object is falsy!");
}
 
If you actually need to get at the internal value of a Boolean object, then you'll need to use the valueOf method.
// Outputs: "The value of my false Boolean object is falsy!"
if (constructorFalse.valueOf()) {
    console.log("The value of my false Boolean object is truthy!");
} else {
    console.log("The value of my false Boolean object is falsy!");
}
 
But because of the quirks surrounding Boolean objects, you're probably best off avoiding them altogether. In fact, linting tools like JSHint and JSLint will flag the Boolean constructor as a potential error in your code.
In the event that you need to explicitly coerce another type of value into true or false, you're better off using Boolean as an ordinary function, or using the not operator twice.
// Two approaches to coercing 0 into false
var byFunction = Boolean(0);
var byNotNot = !!0;
 
The double not above is pretty simple, though it can be confusing if you haven't seen it before. Using a single not operator coerces the value into a boolean primitive and then reverses it. (To true in this case). The second use of the not operator reverses the value again, so that it is flipped back to the correct boolean representation of the original value.


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