using default value with an ejs filter

Question

using default value with an ejs filter

If item.description is undefined or empty, I want to default to 'No description':

I've tried the following:

  <%-: ( item.description | markdown ) || '<p>No description</p>' %>
  <%-: ( item.description || 'No description' ) | markdown %>

What else can I do?

node.js
express
ejs

Answer 1

Not sure if you can mix || with the | of EJS' filters, but you can add a filter to accomplish it:

ejs.filters.or = function (arg, sub) {
  return arg || sub;
};

<%-: item.description | or:'No description' | markdown %>

Answer 2

I'm wondering the code with your question, why the pre-tag with ejs template expression is "<%-" not the "<%=" (the output or value assignment output) or the "<%=:" (the filter output) signature?

BTW, the filter invoke signature is the single vertical bar not double, and you can invoke any times with what you want...