The logical AND (&&
) operator (logical conjunction) for a set of
operands is true if and only if all of its operands are true. It is typically used with
Boolean
(logical) values. When it is, it returns a Boolean value. However,
the &&
operator actually returns the value of one of the specified
operands, so if this operator is used with non-Boolean values, it will return a
non-Boolean value.
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Syntax
expr1 && expr2
Description
If expr1
can be converted to true
, returns
expr2
; else, returns expr1
.
If a value can be converted to true
, the value is so-called
truthy. If a value can be converted to false
, the value is
so-called falsy.
Examples of expressions that can be converted to false are:
null
;NaN
;0
;- empty string (
""
or''
or``
); undefined
.
Even though the &&
operator can be used with operands that are not
Boolean values, it can still be considered a boolean operator since its return value can
always be converted to a boolean primitive.
To explicitly convert its return value (or any expression in general) to the
corresponding boolean value, use a double NOT
operator or the Boolean
constructor.
Short-circuit evaluation
The logical AND expression is evaluated left to right, it is tested for possible "short-circuit" evaluation using the following rule:
(some falsy expression) && expr
is short-circuit
evaluated to the falsy expression;
Short circuit means that the expr
part above is not
evaluated, hence any side effects of doing so do not take effect (e.g., if
expr
is a function call, the calling never takes place). This
happens because the value of the operator is already determined after the evaluation of
the first operand. See example:
function A(){ console.log('called A'); return false; }
function B(){ console.log('called B'); return true; }
console.log( A() && B() );
// logs "called A" due to the function call,
// then logs false (which is the resulting value of the operator)
Operator precedence
The following expressions might seem equivalent, but they are not, because the
&&
operator is executed before the ||
operator (see operator
precedence).
true || false && false // returns true, because && is executed first
(true || false) && false // returns false, because operator precedence cannot apply
Examples
Using AND
The following code shows examples of the &&
(logical AND)
operator.
a1 = true && true // t && t returns true
a2 = true && false // t && f returns false
a3 = false && true // f && t returns false
a4 = false && (3 == 4) // f && f returns false
a5 = 'Cat' && 'Dog' // t && t returns "Dog"
a6 = false && 'Cat' // f && t returns false
a7 = 'Cat' && false // t && f returns false
a8 = '' && false // f && f returns ""
a9 = false && '' // f && f returns false
Conversion rules for booleans
Converting AND to OR
The following operation involving booleans:
bCondition1 && bCondition2
is always equal to:
!(!bCondition1 || !bCondition2)
Converting OR to AND
The following operation involving booleans:
bCondition1 || bCondition2
is always equal to:
!(!bCondition1 && !bCondition2)
Removing nested parentheses
As logical expressions are evaluated left to right, it is always possible to remove parentheses from a complex expression following some rules.
The following composite operation involving booleans:
bCondition1 || (bCondition2 && bCondition3)
is always equal to:
bCondition1 || bCondition2 && bCondition3
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript (ECMA-262) The definition of 'Logical AND expression' in that specification. |
Browser compatibility
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