Booleans

Booleans represent one of two values: true or false.

Syntaxlet isReady = true; Boolean(value)

A Boolean represents truth: it is either true or false. Booleans are the basis of all decisions in code.

Truthy and falsy

Every value is either truthy or falsy when used as a condition. The falsy values are: false, 0, '' (empty string), null, undefined, and NaN. Everything else is truthy.

Example

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When to use it

  • Toggle a sidebar's visibility state with a boolean flag that flips on button click.
  • Short-circuit an API call when a boolean isAuthenticated flag is false.
  • Store a checkbox's checked state as a boolean in form state before submitting.

More examples

Boolean flag for UI state

Flips a boolean flag with the NOT operator to track an open/closed UI state.

Example · js
let isMenuOpen = false;
function toggleMenu() {
  isMenuOpen = !isMenuOpen;
  console.log("Menu open:", isMenuOpen);
}
toggleMenu(); // true
toggleMenu(); // false

Comparison produces a boolean

Shows that a comparison expression evaluates to a boolean value stored in a variable.

Example · js
const age = 20;
const canVote = age >= 18;
console.log(canVote);         // true
console.log(typeof canVote);  // "boolean"

Truthy and falsy values

Iterates over common values to demonstrate which are truthy and which are falsy in a boolean context.

Example · js
const values = [0, "", null, undefined, NaN, false, "hello", 1, [], {}];
values.forEach(v => console.log(v, "=>", Boolean(v)));

Discussion

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Booleans — JavaScript | SoundsCode