Template talk:Void

Necessity
This template is required for advanced templates such as Template:Enemy.


 * Is this template even necessary for the enemy template anymore? It is in Unused templates. But this one will be very useful for the conditional statements. We can call this template instead of just leaving the field blank.--Matt 04:59, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * The description of this template at Wikipedia (and also the info on it's talk page) explains what this may be used for, but that there are other alternatives that don't require a template at all. I'd say this can go. --Adam 07:34, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I know they are unused templates, but it is still weird not putting in noinclude tags. This void one can still be useful for the conditional statements. But we'd have to try it. nowiki tags don't work in those conditional statements.

See this should say yes, but it says no. It is because each set of nowiki tags gets its own unique id for its value in these statements. I'm not sure we'd have the same problem with this template.--Matt 07:43, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Okie-dokie, if you can see a use for it, just stick a brief explanation on it and remove the delete tag. I was quite happy with the status quo before you questioned this anyway ;) --Adam 07:48, 21 June 2008 (UTC)


 * It works. This code  , will be blank if the variable  is blank and same the other part if it isn't. I tried it out in the sandbox by previewing. This is far simpler than what I added to those user owns userboxes.--Matt 07:58, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Importance
I know that some of you might think that this template is still useless. But it is critical when using the #switch function. If the variable is blank and you want the result to be blank in such a case, then using this template is essential. When using this:  , it will always work. When using this:  , it won't work because the function will think that both the blank space and the "yes" are what the default value is. And the "yes" overrides the blank space. Here are some examples of this issue:
 * Using the void template:
 * 
 * Using a blank space:
 * 

So, clearly, this template is vital for the functioning of quite a few others. I just had to clarify why it is important. 20:06, July 3, 2008 (UTC)