Nullish Coalescing and Optional Chaining in Angular 12+: Enhancing Code Safety and Readability

Abstract

In Angular Nullish Coalescing (??) and Optional Chaining (?.) are two powerful JavaScript features introduced to handle null or undefined values more effectively. Optional Chaining allows developers to safely access deeply nested object properties without having to manually check if each level exists, returning undefined if any part of the chain is nullish. Nullish Coalescing is a logical operator that returns the right-hand operand if the left-hand operand is nullish (null or undefined), otherwise returning the left-hand operand. These features streamline common null-check patterns, enhance code readability, and significantly reduce the risk of runtime errors, especially in complex Angular applications. This paper explores the technical details, use cases, and benefits of using Optional Chaining and Nullish Coalescing in Angular templates and application logic.