How to use OR condition in a JavaScript IF statement?

Question

I understand that in JavaScript you can write:

if (A && B) { do something }

But how do I implement an OR such as:

if (A OR B) { do something }

This is by the way not jQuery specific. It's just a Javascript library. Your question is Javascript specific. — BalusC, Mar 02 '10 at 14:41

score 292 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 08 '20 at 02:38

292

Simply use the logical "OR" operator, that is ||.

if (A || B)

edited Jan 08 '20 at 02:38

ReinstateMonica3167040

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answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:39

Luca Rocchi

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Do you have a link to some official documentation? – Adriano Nov 28 '18 at 23:59
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See [Logical operators](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Logical_Operators). – showdev May 24 '19 at 02:54

score 95 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 22 '19 at 09:29

95

Worth noting that || will also return true if BOTH A and B are true.

In JavaScript, if you're looking for A or B, but not both, you'll need to do something similar to:

if( (A && !B) || (B && !A) ) { ... }

edited Aug 22 '19 at 09:29

double-beep

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answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:50

user113716

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Shouldn't be first phrase be "Worth noting that || will return true if EITHER var A OR var B is true" ?? It implies what you mentioned is (true | true) = true. which is common and understood. – Punith Raj Jan 23 '15 at 07:44
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(A && !B) || (B && !A) **can be replaced with** A ^ B which is much smoother – Oct 28 '15 at 14:31
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@Murplyx: In most cases yes, but numbers outside the 32 bit range can fail. `(Math.pow(2,32)-1) ^ 0; // -1 (success)` ... `Math.pow(2,32) ^ 0; // 0 (failure)` – May 12 '16 at 00:44
`if (A ? !B : B) {...` would be a shorter substitute that wouldn't have the 32-bit limitation. Or maybe `if (!A != !B) {...` – May 12 '16 at 00:52
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@squint Why would a true or false ever be outside of the 32 bit range hence they are only 0 or 1, and btw if you compare numbers just use !!n to get the boolean value. – May 26 '16 at 17:17
@Murplyx: Who said the values were only `true` and `false`? We can't assume that in JS. WRT `!!n`, that was the point of my last comment... `!A != !B` is the same as `!!A != !!B`, which provide the XOR behavior. – May 26 '16 at 19:53

score 16 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:39

16

Use the || operator.

answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:39

Skilldrick

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score 15 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:39

15

if (A || B) { do something }

answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:39

Dolbz

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score 12 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:40

12

|| is the or operator.

if(A || B){ do something }

answered Mar 02 '10 at 14:40

rosscj2533

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score 10 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 30 '14 at 21:38

10

here is my example:

if(userAnswer==="Yes"||"yes"||"YeS"){
 console.log("Too Bad!");   
}

This says that if the answer is Yes yes or YeS than the same thing will happen

edited Dec 30 '14 at 21:38

ElGavilan

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answered Dec 30 '14 at 20:41

Dyljam1234

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Does your answer improve upon any existing answer? It's a specific use case? – emecas Dec 30 '14 at 21:03
Is it work? I code like that but it's syntax error. I code like this. `if (name === 'Jam' || name === 'Jem' || name == 'Jum')` – Penguin Jun 04 '15 at 06:17
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Yes, I discovered the hard way that you have to include each statement separately. I worked out that `if (number === 1||2||3)` is like `while (true)`; the second and third conditions ask if 2 is 2 and/or 3 is 3. They always resolve as true to the statement always passes. There goes my plan to reduce the character count. Keeping the statements in parenthesis does make it easier to read though. – TimSmith-Aardwolf Jul 13 '15 at 15:03
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Just much better to use .toLowerCase() instead of having to check all different case variants. – AquaAlex Sep 18 '15 at 15:51
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var choice = prompt("Do you choose rock, paper or scissors?").toLowerCase(); if (userChoice != ("paper"||"rock"||"scissors")) { console.log("Invalid Choice made"); } – AquaAlex Sep 18 '15 at 15:53

score 2 · Answer 7 · edited Jan 08 '20 at 03:57

One can use regular expressions, too:

var thingToTest = "B";
if (/A|B/.test(thingToTest)) alert("Do something!")

Here's an example of regular expressions in general:

var myString = "This is my search subject"
if (/my/.test(myString)) alert("Do something here!")

This will look for "my" within the variable "myString". You can substitute a string directly in place of the "myString" variable.

As an added bonus you can add the case insensitive "i" and the global "g" to the search as well.

var myString = "This is my search subject"
if (/my/ig.test(myString)) alert("Do something here");

Interesting. Documentation? – Ken Sharp Jun 12 '19 at 06:05 — Ken Sharp, Jun 12 '19 at 06:05

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 08 '20 at 01:38

If we're going to mention regular expressions, we might as well mention the switch statement.

var expr = 'Papayas';
switch (expr) {
  case 'Oranges':
    console.log('Oranges are $0.59 a pound.');
    break;
  case 'Mangoes':
  case 'Papayas': // Mangoes or papayas
    console.log('Mangoes and papayas are $2.79 a pound.');
    // expected output: "Mangoes and papayas are $2.79 a pound."
    break;
  default:
    console.log('Sorry, we are out of ' + expr + '.');
}

KARTHIKEYAN.A · Answer 9 · 2018-08-21T09:00:56.123

0

More then one condition statement is needed to use OR(||) operator in if conditions and notation is ||.

if(condition || condition){ 
   some stuff
}

edited Aug 21 '18 at 09:00

answered Apr 25 '17 at 04:21

KARTHIKEYAN.A

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Why are you answering old questions with exactly the same answer? – Ken Sharp Jun 12 '19 at 06:05

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 29 '19 at 17:54

0

You can use Like

if(condition1 || condition2 || condition3 || ..........)
{       
     enter code here
}

answered Jan 29 '19 at 17:54

Abhilash Reddy

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Why are you answering old questions with exactly the same answer? – Ken Sharp Jun 12 '19 at 06:05

haotang · Answer 11 · 2014-06-29T02:28:36.007

-1

Just use ||

if (A || B) { your action here }

Note: with string and number. It's more complicated.

Check this for deep understading:

edited Jun 29 '14 at 02:28

answered Jun 27 '14 at 16:02

haotang

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This question has been answered four years ago. Does your answer improve upon any existing answer? – Joe Frambach Jun 27 '14 at 16:04
@JoeFrambach: No. I just wanna make a clearer answer :) – haotang Jun 28 '14 at 12:35

How to use OR condition in a JavaScript IF statement?

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