I'm using an NSExpression to evaluate simple strings such as:
NSExpression(format: "1 + 1").expressionValue(with: nil, context: nil) as? Int == 2
Some of my strings have more complex logic, and I'd like to use a ternary operator. I tried using the traditional ?: syntax, but I get an error:
NSExpression(format: "1 + 1 == 2 ? 'YES' : 'NO'").expressionValue(with: nil, context: nil)
terminating with uncaught exception of type NSException
Is there a way to use a ternary operator assuming the only thing I can change is the string?
Yes. I'm not sure where the documentation lives, but I found some obscure references to a TERNARY function. If you try it out within an NSExpression, it works:
NSExpression(format: "TERNARY(1 + 1 == 2, 'YES', 'NO')").expressionValue(with: nil, context: nil) as? String == "YES"
It looks like the format is:
TERNARY(<predicate>, <trueValue>, <falseValue>)
If you don't want to rely on an (apparently) undocumented expression format then you can create a conditional expression using the
init(forConditional:trueExpression:falseExpression:)
constructor (documentation). Example:
let expr = NSExpression(forConditional: NSPredicate(format: "1 + 1 == 2"),
trueExpression: NSExpression(forConstantValue: "YES"),
falseExpression: NSExpression(forConstantValue: "NO"))
Related
I can't figure out what ?: does in for example this case
val list = mutableList ?: mutableListOf()
and why can it be modified to this
val list = if (mutableList != null) mutableList else mutableListOf()
TL;DR: If the resulting object reference [first operand] is not null, it is returned. Otherwise the value of the second operand (which may be null) is returned. Additionally, the operator can throw an exception if null is returned.
The Elvis operator is part of many programming languages, e.g. Kotlin but also Groovy or C#.
I find the Wikipedia definition pretty accurate:
In certain computer programming languages, the Elvis operator ?: is a binary operator that returns its first operand if that operand is true, and otherwise evaluates and returns its second operand. It is a variant of the ternary conditional operator, ? :, found in those languages (and many others): the Elvis operator is the ternary operator with its second operand omitted.
The following is especially true for Kotlin:
Some computer programming languages have different semantics for this operator. Instead of the first operand having to result in a boolean, it must result in an object reference. If the resulting object reference is not null, it is returned. Otherwise the value of the second operand (which may be null) is returned. If the second operand is null, the operator is also able to throw an exception.
An example:
x ?: y // yields `x` if `x` is not null, `y` otherwise.
x ?: throw SomeException() // yields `x` if `x` is not null, throws SomeException otherwise
The Elvis Operator is represented by a question mark followed by a colon: ?: and it can be used with this syntax:
first operand ?: second operand
It enables you to write a consise code, and works as such:
If first operand isn't null, then it will be returned. If it is null, then the second operand will be returned. This can be used to guarantee that an expression won't return a null value, as you'll provide a non-nullable value if the provided value is null.
For example(in Kotlin):
fun retrieveString(): String { //Notice that this type isn't nullable
val nullableVariable: String? = getPotentialNull() //This variable may be null
return nullableVariable ?: "Secondary Not-Null String"
}
In this case, if the computed value of getPotentialNull is not null, it will be returned by retrieveString; If it is null, the second expression "Secondary Not-Null String" will be returned instead.
Also note that the right-hand side expression is evaluated only if the left-hand side is null.
In Kotlin, you could use any expression as second operand, such as a throw Exception expression
return nullVariable ?: throw IllegalResponseException("My inner function returned null! Oh no!")
The name Elvis Operator comes from the famous American singer Elvis Presley. His hairstyle resembles a Question Mark
Source: Wojda, I. Moskala, M. Android Development with Kotlin. 2017. Packt Publishing
This is called the Elvis operator and it does... Exactly what you've described in your question. If its left hand side is a null value, it returns the right side instead, sort of as a fallback. Otherwise it just returns the value on the left hand side.
a ?: b is just shorthand for if (a != null) a else b.
Some more examples with types:
val x: String? = "foo"
val y: String = x ?: "bar" // "foo", because x was non-null
val a: String? = null
val b: String = a ?: "bar" // "bar", because a was null
Let's take a look at the defintion:
When we have a nullable reference r, we can say "if r is not null, use
it, otherwise use some non-null value x":
The ?: (Elvis) operator avoids verbosity and makes your code really concise.
For example, a lot of collection extension functions return null as fallback.
listOf(1, 2, 3).firstOrNull { it == 4 } ?: throw IllegalStateException("Ups")
?: gives you a way to handle the fallback case elgantely even if you have multiple layers of fallback. If so, you can simply chain multiply Elvis operators, like here:
val l = listOf(1, 2, 3)
val x = l.firstOrNull { it == 4 } ?: l.firstOrNull { it == 5 } ?: throw IllegalStateException("Ups")
If you would express the same with if else it would be a lot more code which is harder to read.
The elvis operator in Kotlin is used for null safety.
x = a ?: b
In the above code, x will be assigned the value of a if a is not null and b if a is null.
The equivalent kotlin code without using the elvis operator is below:
x = if(a == null) b else a
Simply we can say that, you have two hands. You want to know, is your left hand working right now?. If left hand not working, return empty else busy
Example for Java:
private int a;
if(a != null){
println("a is not null, Value is: "+a)
}
else{
println("a is null")
}
Example for Kotlin:
val a : Int = 5
val l : Int = if (a != null) a.length else "a is null"
Consider below example,
var myStr:String? = null
//trying to find out length of myStr, but it could be null, so a null check can be put as,
val len = if (myStr != null){
myStr.length
}
else{
-1
}
Using the elvis operator, the above code can be written in a single line
val len = myStr?.length ?: -1 // will return -1 if myStr is null else will return length
In addition to what has been already stated there is one good pattern that was not obvious for me, but which is common, e.g. you're writing a long function, but if something is null there is no sense to continue and the only thing you can do is to return from the function. Normally you'd write
something = expression
if (something == null) {
return
}
With elvis it becomes shorter and more elegant:
something = expression ?: return
Basically, if the left side of Elvis returns null for some reason, returns the right side instead.
i.e.
val number: Int? = null
println(number ?: "Number is null")
So, if number is NOT null, it will print number, otherwise will print "Number is null".
A little addition though is this
X = A ?: B
X will still be null if both A and B evaluate to null
Therefore, if you want X to always be non-null, make sure B is always a non-null or that B always evaluates to non-null if it's a function or expression.
I am using swift String(format:...) and need to compute values in the format string itself using ternary operator, something like this but it doesn't compiles.
String(format: "Audio: \(numChannels>1?"Stereo": "Mono")")
In Objective-C, I could do like this:
[NSString stringWithFormat:#"Audio: %#", numChannels > 1 ? #"Stereo" : #"Mono"];
How do I achieve the same elegance in Swift without having an intermediate variable?
Due to the missing spaces around the operators in the conditional expression, the compiler misinterprets 1?"Stereo" as optional chaining. It should be
String(format: "Audio: \(numChannels>1 ? "Stereo" : "Mono")")
instead. However, since the format string has no placeholders at all, this is equivalent to
"Audio: \(numChannels > 1 ? "Stereo" : "Mono")"
One option is to use String(format:) with a placeholder and the conditional expression as the parameter for the placeholder
String(format: "Audio = %#", numChannels > 1 ? "Stereo" : "Mono")
I can't figure out what ?: does in for example this case
val list = mutableList ?: mutableListOf()
and why can it be modified to this
val list = if (mutableList != null) mutableList else mutableListOf()
TL;DR: If the resulting object reference [first operand] is not null, it is returned. Otherwise the value of the second operand (which may be null) is returned. Additionally, the operator can throw an exception if null is returned.
The Elvis operator is part of many programming languages, e.g. Kotlin but also Groovy or C#.
I find the Wikipedia definition pretty accurate:
In certain computer programming languages, the Elvis operator ?: is a binary operator that returns its first operand if that operand is true, and otherwise evaluates and returns its second operand. It is a variant of the ternary conditional operator, ? :, found in those languages (and many others): the Elvis operator is the ternary operator with its second operand omitted.
The following is especially true for Kotlin:
Some computer programming languages have different semantics for this operator. Instead of the first operand having to result in a boolean, it must result in an object reference. If the resulting object reference is not null, it is returned. Otherwise the value of the second operand (which may be null) is returned. If the second operand is null, the operator is also able to throw an exception.
An example:
x ?: y // yields `x` if `x` is not null, `y` otherwise.
x ?: throw SomeException() // yields `x` if `x` is not null, throws SomeException otherwise
The Elvis Operator is represented by a question mark followed by a colon: ?: and it can be used with this syntax:
first operand ?: second operand
It enables you to write a consise code, and works as such:
If first operand isn't null, then it will be returned. If it is null, then the second operand will be returned. This can be used to guarantee that an expression won't return a null value, as you'll provide a non-nullable value if the provided value is null.
For example(in Kotlin):
fun retrieveString(): String { //Notice that this type isn't nullable
val nullableVariable: String? = getPotentialNull() //This variable may be null
return nullableVariable ?: "Secondary Not-Null String"
}
In this case, if the computed value of getPotentialNull is not null, it will be returned by retrieveString; If it is null, the second expression "Secondary Not-Null String" will be returned instead.
Also note that the right-hand side expression is evaluated only if the left-hand side is null.
In Kotlin, you could use any expression as second operand, such as a throw Exception expression
return nullVariable ?: throw IllegalResponseException("My inner function returned null! Oh no!")
The name Elvis Operator comes from the famous American singer Elvis Presley. His hairstyle resembles a Question Mark
Source: Wojda, I. Moskala, M. Android Development with Kotlin. 2017. Packt Publishing
This is called the Elvis operator and it does... Exactly what you've described in your question. If its left hand side is a null value, it returns the right side instead, sort of as a fallback. Otherwise it just returns the value on the left hand side.
a ?: b is just shorthand for if (a != null) a else b.
Some more examples with types:
val x: String? = "foo"
val y: String = x ?: "bar" // "foo", because x was non-null
val a: String? = null
val b: String = a ?: "bar" // "bar", because a was null
Let's take a look at the defintion:
When we have a nullable reference r, we can say "if r is not null, use
it, otherwise use some non-null value x":
The ?: (Elvis) operator avoids verbosity and makes your code really concise.
For example, a lot of collection extension functions return null as fallback.
listOf(1, 2, 3).firstOrNull { it == 4 } ?: throw IllegalStateException("Ups")
?: gives you a way to handle the fallback case elgantely even if you have multiple layers of fallback. If so, you can simply chain multiply Elvis operators, like here:
val l = listOf(1, 2, 3)
val x = l.firstOrNull { it == 4 } ?: l.firstOrNull { it == 5 } ?: throw IllegalStateException("Ups")
If you would express the same with if else it would be a lot more code which is harder to read.
The elvis operator in Kotlin is used for null safety.
x = a ?: b
In the above code, x will be assigned the value of a if a is not null and b if a is null.
The equivalent kotlin code without using the elvis operator is below:
x = if(a == null) b else a
Simply we can say that, you have two hands. You want to know, is your left hand working right now?. If left hand not working, return empty else busy
Example for Java:
private int a;
if(a != null){
println("a is not null, Value is: "+a)
}
else{
println("a is null")
}
Example for Kotlin:
val a : Int = 5
val l : Int = if (a != null) a.length else "a is null"
Consider below example,
var myStr:String? = null
//trying to find out length of myStr, but it could be null, so a null check can be put as,
val len = if (myStr != null){
myStr.length
}
else{
-1
}
Using the elvis operator, the above code can be written in a single line
val len = myStr?.length ?: -1 // will return -1 if myStr is null else will return length
In addition to what has been already stated there is one good pattern that was not obvious for me, but which is common, e.g. you're writing a long function, but if something is null there is no sense to continue and the only thing you can do is to return from the function. Normally you'd write
something = expression
if (something == null) {
return
}
With elvis it becomes shorter and more elegant:
something = expression ?: return
Basically, if the left side of Elvis returns null for some reason, returns the right side instead.
i.e.
val number: Int? = null
println(number ?: "Number is null")
So, if number is NOT null, it will print number, otherwise will print "Number is null".
A little addition though is this
X = A ?: B
X will still be null if both A and B evaluate to null
Therefore, if you want X to always be non-null, make sure B is always a non-null or that B always evaluates to non-null if it's a function or expression.
I have a simply function check like this:
fun parseValidBluetoothBrickedId(controllerId: String?): Boolean{
if(controllerId != null){
if(controllerId.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX) && controllerId.length > BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX.length)
return true
}
return false
}
I want to convert it to simplier style:
fun parseValidBluetoothBrickedId(controllerId: String?) =
controllerId?.length > BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX.length
&& controllerId?.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX)
but IDE(Android Studio 3.0 Beta7) gives me an error, underlines the greater than('>') operator:
Operator calls corresponds to a dot-qualified call 'controllerId?.length.compareTo(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX.length) which is not allowed here
Also it underline as an error line controllerId?.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX) and says:
Type mismatch. Required: Boolean, Found Boolean?
What is the problem, really? It is just a simply method, works well with the first block if-else style.
You can't call compareTo (use the < operator) on controllerId?.length, since its type is Int?, which means it might be null, in which case it can't be compared as a number.
Similarly, the controllerId?.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX) call returns Boolean? (since it will return null if controllerId is null), which can't be passed to the the && operator, only a real Boolean can.
The solution here is to do the null check that you were doing in your original method, and get rid of the safe calls by relying on smart casts casting your controllerId to String:
fun parseValidBluetoothBrickedId(controllerId: String?): Boolean =
controllerId != null
&& controllerId.length > BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX.length
&& controllerId.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX)
When you do controllerId?.length, you are getting an Int?. You cannot compare Int with an Int?. That is the reason you get the first error.
You get the other error because controllerId?.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX) returns Boolean?. You cannot use the && operator on a nullable parameter. It requires two parameters of type Boolean.
To solve the problems, you need to check controllerId != null first. This will smart cast controllerId to the non-nullable type String. Like this:
fun parseValidBluetoothBrickedId(controllerId: String?): Boolean =
controllerId != null
&& controllerId.startsWith(BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX)
&& controllerId.length > BLUETOOTH_NAME_PREFIX.length
Your transformed function is missing the null check:
fun parseValidBluetoothBrickedId(controllerId: String?) =
controllerId != null && controllerId.length > "".length
&& controllerId.startsWith("")
As in your first example, the null check is necessary for the compiler to know, that controllerId is not null. After the check, the compiler uses "smart casting" and the calls are safe.
Therefore you do not have to use ?. notation after the check.
I haven't used the ternary operator much and I'm getting an error on this:
(isInitializing) ? (return YES) : (isInitializing = 1);
Error is: "Expected Expression" and it's pointing to return YES.
Don't use the Ternary Operator to "do stuff" but to return one of two values.
So this is a valid case:
NSString *something = (isInitializing ? #"value a" : #"value b");
In your case, you might want to do this instead:
if (isInitializing) {
return YES;
} else {
isInitializing = 1;
}
The ternary operator is used to return one of two values depending on a condition. It is not so much used to execute statements, hence the return is a bit of a problem. I would rather use an if when you do not want to distinguish values, but rather have two different execution paths.