Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- playground:playground [2021/09/12 23:44] – craigt
+++ playground:playground [2021/09/13 00:03] – craigt
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-====== Coalesce(value1, value2…) ======
+===== Empty() =====
 Category:  Special function
 \\
 =====Description=====
-This function returns the first value in the argument list that is //not// an [[syntax:types#empty_values|empty value]].
+This function creates an [[syntax:types#empty_values|empty value]].
 \\
-=====Alternate formats=====
+=====Use cases=====
-This function can take from 2 to 6 values as arguments.
+Use //empty()// to insert empty values into cells, or within other functions.
-  coalesce(value1, value2, value3, value4, value5, value6)
 \\
 =====Arguments=====
-^Argument^Type^Description^
+This function does not require arguments.
-|valueN|Any|A value tested to determine whether it represents an //empty value// or not.|
-**Return value type:** Any (The type of the returned, non-empty value.)
+**Return value type:** Empty value
 \\
 =====Remarks=====
-To use the function with more than 6 arguments, nest function calls. Keep in mind that arguments are evaluated before a function is evaluated.
+While a value can be tested for an empty value using a "value = empty()" expression, the [[syntax:functions:isempty|IsEmpty]] function can also be used.  The two approaches are equivalent.
-If all arguments are empty values, an empty value is returned.
 \\
 =====Examples=====
-  coalesce(empty(), 'ABC', '')  //Returns 'ABC'
-  coalesce(empty(), '', 'ABC')  //Returns '' (Empty text value but not an empty value.)
+  [Content] = empty()  //Returns TRUE if [Content] contains an empty value, otherwise, FALSE.
-  coalesce(empty(),empty())  //Returns an empty value  (All arguments are empty values.)
+  coalesce(empty(), 'ABC', '')  //Using empty() as an argument within a function.
+  if( [Value] = 10, 'Ten', empty() )  //Using empty() to set an empty value in an If statement.
-  coalesce(empty(), coalesce('ABC',empty()) ,'XYZ')  //Returns 'ABC'  (Nested functions)
 \\
 =====See also=====
-  * [[syntax:functions:empty|Empty()]]
+  * [[syntax:functions:isempty|IsEmpty(expression)]]
-  * [[syntax:functions:pick|Pick(index, values, separator)]]
+  * [[syntax:types|The EasyMorph Type system]]