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JavaScript JavaScript Basics (Retired) Making Decisions with Conditional Statements Boolean Values

Posted by Agnes Demes
Agnes Demes
6,613 Points

still wrapping my head around why we dont have to test if( correctGuess === true) { ...}

why we can delete the evaluation of the boolean variable... such as if ( correctGuess ){..} and it still only follow this iteration when true.

if each answer to these questions is a YES then i get it , if not then no idea..

is the true state the always the first test? if I wanted to test for false first would have to write if ( correctGuess !=== true){..}
does true mean exist in a way?

5 Answers

Ben Reynolds
Ben Reynolds
35,170 Points

is the true state the always the first test?

Exactly. When you use an if statement to test a boolean, its default behavior is to check if the value is true. You only need to use "!", "!=" etc if you want to override that and check for false instead.

Henrik Christensen
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Henrik Christensen
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 38,322 Points
Henrik Christensen
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Henrik Christensen
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 38,322 Points 
// this is the same as saying if (correctGuess == true)
if (correctGuess) {
  // do something
}

// if you want to test for 'false'
if (correctGuess == false) {
  // do something 
}

// or like this
if (correctGuess != true) {
  // do something
}

// and this is like saying if (correctGuess == false) too
if (!correctGuess) {
  // do something
}
Lizzie Bailey
Lizzie Bailey
1,734 Points

You're amazing; that's totally cleared it up!

tommy huynh
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
tommy huynh
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 3,723 Points
tommy huynh
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
tommy huynh
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 3,723 Points

Thanks for the answers I had the same question haha

Agnes Demes
Agnes Demes
6,613 Points
Agnes Demes
Agnes Demes
6,613 Points

Thank you both for your answers.

Michelle Waggoner
Michelle Waggoner
1,687 Points
Michelle Waggoner
Michelle Waggoner
1,687 Points

Thanks. I did not quite catch how correctGuess by itself within the conditional statement was checking to see if it was true. Thanks for clearing it up.