Flow Control

If statement

Beside the keyword used, the if-statement in Bosscript is a direct match of if-statements in most other programming languages. The keyword used instead of if is ako. Consider this basic example:

ako (x > 10) {
    ispis("x is greater than 10");
}

The statement expects a logički or an expression that evaluates to logički as the condition. It is also possible to perform null-checks using the logical not ! operator:

var questionable = getValueOrNull();
ako (!questionable) {
    ispis("questionable doesn't exist");
}

That is possible since the expression !questionable evaluates to logički. The example below, however, is invalid:

var questionable = getValueOrNull();
ako (questionable) {
    ispis("questionable exists");
}

In Bosscript, there is no concept of truthy and falsey values, like in JavaScript. It strictly expects logički values in any place a condition appears, including if-statements.

The if-statement can have an optional alternate branch. The concept is exactly the same as in most other programming languages:

var x = brojOd(unos("Input a number: "));

ako (x % 2 == 0) {
    ispis("x is even");
}
inače {
    ispis("x is odd");
}

An alternate branch can be another if-statement, which allows for chaining an arbitrary number of if-statements. This is where Bosscript syntax differs to most other programming language. Most other programming languages use the keyword else both for chaining alternate branches (else if), and for the ultimate branch (else {}). Bosscript uses the keyword ili (Bosnian word for or) for chaining alternate branches, while inače is used for the standalone else. This way, the syntax is more in line with how the expression would read in conversational Bosnian.

var user = getUser();

ako (user.role == "student") {
    ...
}
ili ako (user.role == "professor") {
    ...
}
inače {
    ...
}

Note that both inače and inace are valid spellings of the keyword - both are treated the same. This means that both:

ako (x % 2 == 0) {
    ispis("x is even");
}
inače {
    ispis("x is odd");
}

and:

ako (x % 2 == 0) {
    ispis("x is even");
}
inace {
    ispis("x is odd");
}

are equally valid.

Unless statement

This feature of Bosscript was inspired by Ruby, which is one of the rare few programming languages that support it.

Below is an example written in Ruby:

var ime = ...

osim ako(ime.jePrazno()){
    ispis("Hello, " + ime + "!");
}

Both the Ruby and the Bosscript example will evaluate to

Hello, Bosscript!

if name is not empty. In the example, we assume that the name is set to Bosscript.

From the example above, it is evident that unless/osim ako works as an inverse if-statement, whereby it expects the provided condition to evaluate to false/netačno, in order for the consequent block to be executed. In other words, every unless-statement can be written as an if-not.

osim ako(ime.jePrazno()){
    ispis("Hello, " + ime + "!");
}

and

ako(!ime.jePrazno()){
    ispis("Hello, " + ime + "!");
}

are equivalent statements. The reason why osim ako exists is because some users might find that syntax easier to read than the classic if-not syntax. It sometimes maps better to a Bosnian sentence than if-not as well.

An osim ako statement can have an associated inače block, but branching is disallowed.

osim ako(ime.jePrazno()){
    ispis("Hello, " + ime + "!");
}
inače {
    ispis("Ime je prazno");
}

is valid, but:

osim ako(ime.jePrazno()){
    ispis("Hello, " + ime + "!");
}
ili ako(ime.duzina < 3){
    ispis("Ime je prekratko");
}
inače {
    ispis("Ime je prazno");
}

is not.