Check if a string isn t nil or empty in Lua

Question

I ve some currently some Lua code using the following syntax   if  foo    nil or foo        then     foo    some default value  end   The goal of the if condition is to test foo is neither an empty string  neither a nil value   Can this code be simplified in one if test instead two

User · Answer

Can this code be simplified in one if test instead two?

nil and '' are different values. If you need to test that s is neither, IMO you should just compare against both, because it makes your intent the most clear.

That and a few alternatives, with their generated bytecode:

if not foo or foo == '' then end
     GETGLOBAL       0 -1    ; foo
     TEST            0 0 0
     JMP             3       ; to 7
     GETGLOBAL       0 -1    ; foo
     EQ              0 0 -2  ; - ""
     JMP             0       ; to 7

if foo == nil or foo == '' then end
    GETGLOBAL       0 -1    ; foo
    EQ              1 0 -2  ; - nil
    JMP             3       ; to 7
    GETGLOBAL       0 -1    ; foo
    EQ              0 0 -3  ; - ""
    JMP             0       ; to 7

if (foo or '') == '' then end
   GETGLOBAL       0 -1    ; foo
   TEST            0 0 1
   JMP             1       ; to 5
   LOADK           0 -2    ; ""
   EQ              0 0 -2  ; - ""
   JMP             0       ; to 7

The second is fastest in Lua 5.1 and 5.2 (on my machine anyway), but difference is tiny. I'd go with the first for clarity's sake.

User · Answer

One simple thing you could do is abstract the test inside a function   local function isempty s    return s    nil or s       end  if isempty foo  then   foo    default value  end

[string] Check if a string isn't nil or empty in Lua

Examples related to string

Examples related to lua