Elvis

feddit.it/pictrs/image/af641b7a-0e0a-44ff-b128-…

submitted 2 weeks ago by Sleepzy@feddit.it

Elvis
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35 Comments

I never heard it called the Elvis operator! Thanks!

It's because if you turn it 90° to the right, it looks like Elvis' hair with two eyes underneath!

I saw it the other way, with the question mark as the curl of his lip.

Elvis lip

It was called Elvis back when it was a smiley

I don't understand this. Small brained users rise up

On the left you have Elvis Presley, while on the right there's the so-called Elvis operator

been programming since 2008. the fuck is an elvis operator?

Been programming since the 80s, ditto.

gotacha. i've only ever heard them called ternaries. maybe i'm old. maybe i'm too young. definitely one of the two

It specifically refers to this shorthand ?: that works like this:

$value = $thing_that_could_be_truthy ?: 'fallback value';

# same as

$value = $thing_that_could_be_truthy ? $thing_that_could_be_truthy : 'fallback value';

The condition is also the value if it is truthy

It's a shorthand for writing this:

variable = if (input != null) input else default

This is equivalent:

variable = input ?: default

The answers confusing it with the ternary operator are wrong.

why would you call it anything other than the ternary operator

Because it's not one. Ternary operator is A ? B : C, Elvis operator is A ?: B. The same two characters are involved, but both the syntax and effect is different.

The second one isn't valid syntax in any programming language I'm familiar with. What does it do?

It's a shorthand for writing this:

variable = if (input != null) input else default

This is equivalent:

variable = input ?: default

Read further down on my other comment to understand, it's just how the operator looks

php too

..but we don't talk about php

php doesn't exist, php can't hurt you

You have absolutely nothing
<?php
   well hello there again
?>
to worry about. If PHP existed
we would have sophisticated
<?php
  I trust that life has
  been treating you well? 
?>
methods of detecting it, and
it would pose literally no
<?php
  Don't open the door. It's me.
?>
threat to anyone.

aah my favorite template engine, I have seen it so long ago

Oh unfortunately these imaginary pains are those which hurt every day

(run { this@comment.parent?.apply { this.value === true } } == true) ?: if ((this@comment.value as? Boolean) != true true) false else true

Nobody's assuming Groovy these days then 😂

I've been working in Jenkins pipeline for a while now.

Why the fuck is Groovy?

Well Grails didn't stick around for long, but Gradle was only available with Groovy for many years before they added Kotlin support.

I will never call this the "Elvis" operator. That's as dumb as dog shit. It's called the ternary operator.

I had to go into the comments to find that out. Is this like an old people thing?