Control Flow Operators

Conditional branching and value selection operators.

if

Conditional branching with if/then/else chains.

Syntax:

{ "if": [condition, then_value] }
{ "if": [condition, then_value, else_value] }
{ "if": [cond1, value1, cond2, value2, ..., else_value] }

Arguments:

• condition - Condition to evaluate
• then_value - Value if condition is truthy
• else_value - Value if condition is falsy (optional)
• Additional condition/value pairs for else-if chains

Returns: The value corresponding to the first truthy condition, or the else value.

Examples:

// Simple if/then
{ "if": [true, "yes"] }
// Result: "yes"

{ "if": [false, "yes"] }
// Result: null

// If/then/else
{ "if": [true, "yes", "no"] }
// Result: "yes"

{ "if": [false, "yes", "no"] }
// Result: "no"

// If/else-if/else chain
{ "if": [
    { ">=": [{ "var": "score" }, 90] }, "A",
    { ">=": [{ "var": "score" }, 80] }, "B",
    { ">=": [{ "var": "score" }, 70] }, "C",
    { ">=": [{ "var": "score" }, 60] }, "D",
    "F"
]}
// Data: { "score": 85 }
// Result: "B"

// Nested if
{ "if": [
    { "var": "premium" },
    { "if": [
        { ">": [{ "var": "amount" }, 100] },
        "free_shipping",
        "standard_shipping"
    ]},
    "no_shipping"
]}
// Data: { "premium": true, "amount": 150 }
// Result: "free_shipping"

Try it:

Notes:

• Only evaluates the matching branch (lazy evaluation)
• Empty condition list returns null
• Odd number of arguments uses last as else value

?: (Ternary)

Ternary conditional operator (shorthand if/then/else).

Syntax:

{ "?:": [condition, then_value, else_value] }

Arguments:

• condition - Condition to evaluate
• then_value - Value if condition is truthy
• else_value - Value if condition is falsy

Returns: then_value if condition is truthy, else_value otherwise.

Examples:

// Basic ternary
{ "?:": [true, "yes", "no"] }
// Result: "yes"

{ "?:": [false, "yes", "no"] }
// Result: "no"

// With comparison
{ "?:": [
    { ">": [{ "var": "age" }, 18] },
    "adult",
    "minor"
]}
// Data: { "age": 21 }
// Result: "adult"

// Nested ternary
{ "?:": [
    { "var": "vip" },
    0,
    { "?:": [
        { ">": [{ "var": "total" }, 50] },
        5,
        10
    ]}
]}
// Data: { "vip": false, "total": 75 }
// Result: 5 (shipping cost)

Try it:

Notes:

• Equivalent to { "if": [condition, then_value, else_value] }
• More concise for simple conditions
• Only evaluates the matching branch

?? (Null Coalesce)

Return the first non-null value.

Syntax:

{ "??": [a, b] }
{ "??": [a, b, c, ...] }

Arguments:

• a, b, … - Values to check (variadic)

Returns: The first non-null value, or null if all are null.

Examples:

// First is not null
{ "??": ["hello", "default"] }
// Result: "hello"

// First is null
{ "??": [null, "default"] }
// Result: "default"

// Multiple values
{ "??": [null, null, "found"] }
// Result: "found"

// All null
{ "??": [null, null] }
// Result: null

// With variables (default value pattern)
{ "??": [{ "var": "nickname" }, { "var": "name" }, "Anonymous"] }
// Data: { "name": "Alice" }
// Result: "Alice"

// Note: 0, "", and false are NOT null
{ "??": [0, "default"] }
// Result: 0

{ "??": ["", "default"] }
// Result: ""

{ "??": [false, "default"] }
// Result: false

Try it:

Notes:

• Only checks for null, not other falsy values
• Use or if you want to skip all falsy values
• Short-circuits: stops at first non-null value

Comparison: if vs ?: vs ?? vs or

Examples:

// Value is 0 (falsy but not null)
// Data: { "count": 0 }

{ "if": [{ "var": "count" }, { "var": "count" }, 10] }
// Result: 10 (0 is falsy)

{ "?:": [{ "var": "count" }, { "var": "count" }, 10] }
// Result: 10 (0 is falsy)

{ "??": [{ "var": "count" }, 10] }
// Result: 0 (0 is not null)

{ "or": [{ "var": "count" }, 10] }
// Result: 10 (0 is falsy)

Choose the operator based on whether you want to treat 0, "", and false as valid values.