What is the conditional I can use for if a variable is null, and if it isn't?

What is the conditional I can use for if a variable is null, and if it isn't?
I looked on the manual under operators and by searching for null and I couldn't find it.

Hi Desbest,

At the template side, you can only deals with string values. A null value in the PHP side will be converted into empty string ''.
So a conditional could be "if [val]=''; then ..."

I'm replying to this thread because something's not working. I think I've found a bug in TinyButStrong 3.7.0 for php5.
The bug is that when I'm using a conditional to check whether a mysql variable is null, the block fails to show if the condition is true.

The above code works! :)


The above code doesn't work, even though the variable is null. [items.description] is pulled from a mysql database. :(

Hi Desbest,

The behavior is known, and it is because of PHP: a unset item in an array is the same thing as an item with a null value. It's the same for variables.
See the discussion here:
http://www.tinybutstrong.com/forum.php?thr=2686#m11494

It's good for lazy coders who use
instead of
but bad for templating engines.

But I am not trying to pull an unset item. I'm trying to pull a variable from a mysql database. The variable I would believe isn't unset, as it's supposed to have the value of null content.
It works for defined variables, but NOT defined mysql variables.

Some MySQL connectors have an option for NULL values that may turn them into false or empty string.
But if you know that your field can have a null value, then you just have to add the TBS parameter "noerr".

If you have the same problem as me, you can use a workaround.
Get rid of your conditional to show a block whether something is or not, and instead use the parameter on that variable instead.

The manual prevails the winner again. http://www.tinybutstrong.com/manual.php#html_field_prm