The double negation !! in Javascript

DanielSeptember 16, 2021September 18, 2021

While working on a bug I have stumbled upon the following piece of code.

return !!(this.isFirstOverall() || this.get('videoId'));

I was super sure it is a mistake, and that was the root of the bug. It did not make any sense to negate a negation.

But after a bit of googleing I have found that there is such a thing as dobule negation in Javascript.

Long story short, its purpose is to convert any expression to an actual true/false boolean value.It is like having Boolean( insert_value_here.).

Take for example the follwoing expression:

const isIE8 = navigator.userAgent.match(/MSIE 8.0/);  
console.log(isIE8);

This will log either an Array or null. And yes, we can evaluate null as being false. Actually, null is a falsely value to be more precise.

But, if we double negate this:

const isIE8 = !!navigator.userAgent.match(/MSIE 8.0/);  
console.log(isIE8);

An actual true/false boolean value will be outputed.

The double negation !! is not an actual operator, like && or ||. It is just a sequence of two negation ! signs.

The first negation converts the data (whatever it data type it may be) to a boolean, but with the opposite value. The second negation changes the boolean again to give the actual result.

// example - the long version
const x = {}; // truthy
const y = !x; // false
const z = !y; // true 

// or by using the double negation
const x = {}; // truthy
const z = !!x; // true

Advantages and disadvantages of using the !! double negation in Javascript

Well, it depends on what do you want to make more clear. For sure the actual code will look strange to someone (like me 😅) who does not know about this double negation trick.

On the other side, it will provide more clear value for the actual evaluation. The result will be just true or false. For example, you will not have to wonder anymore if an empty object is considered true or false.

const result = {};
if(result) {
    // make something
}