tags:

views:

207

answers:

3

Hi all, I was just wondering, does a function without a return statement (or without hitting any return statements) return a value that is completely equivalent to false?

For example:

function foo(){};
!!foo();

This should return false if executed in firebug (but does not return anything if i just called foo();).

Thanks a lot!

Jason

+11  A: 

A function without a return statement (or one that ends its execution without hitting one) will return undefined.

And if you use the unary negation operator twice on an undefined value, you will get false.

You are not seeing anything on the console because Firebug doesn't prints the result of an expression when it's undefined (just try typing undefined; at the console, and you will see nothing).

However if you call the console.log function directly, and you will be able to see it:

function foo(){}

console.log(foo()); // will show 'undefined'
CMS
This answer is correct. You can test javascript interactively using your firebug console, or safari console.
Palo Verde
Or just copy the following into the address bar: javascript:alert(function(){}());
Marius
+2  A: 
<html>
<body>
<script>
function a() {}
alert(a());
</script>
</body>
</html>
Kinopiko
A: 

to find out, try this in firebug console:

alert((function(){})());
Scott Evernden