Which is clearer form: if(!value) or if(flag == value)?

Question

I understand this is a subjective question, so I apologize if it needs to be closed, but I feel like it comes up often enough for me to wonder if there is a general preferen

Answer 1

Whatever condition an if block should evaluate in order to execute must evaluate to true.

Hence, when value is false, the reason why if (!value) allows an if block to execute is because the ! operator essentially flips the false value of value to true, thus making the resultant condition within the parentheses evaluate into a true one that an if block needs in order to execute.

if (value), if (!value), if (flag == value), if (value == true), if (value == false), depending on what's to be achieved, are valid code. E.g. if (value == true) is very useful when value is a nullable boolean, because if (value) will give a syntax error, and if (value.Value == true) will throw exception if you didn't ensure that value is not null before the if block is executed.