Elseprovide

Elseprovide is a term used to describe a programming construct or pattern that supplies an alternative value or implementation when the primary option is unavailable. It is not tied to a single language standard and appears in discussions of libraries, templates, and functional patterns as a convenient way to express fallback behavior in a single operation.

The concept derives from the combination of else and provide, signaling that if the initial value or path cannot be provided, a secondary option should be supplied. In practice, elseprovide can appear as a function, macro, or directive across different ecosystems, and its exact syntax varies by language. It is often used to improve readability by consolidating the fallback logic into one place rather than scattering conditional checks.

Common usage patterns include:

- Functional style: result = elseprovide(value, fallback) where value is used if it exists, otherwise fallback is returned.

- Optional or Maybe patterns: elseprovide(opt, default) returns opt.value when present, else default.

- Templating and configuration: in templates, elseprovide(variable, "default") renders a robust default when the variable is undefined or null.

Related constructs include the null-coalescing operator, orElse in Optional or Maybe types, and default parameters. While elseprovide is a helpful descriptive term in guidelines and examples, implementations are language-specific and may differ in semantics, naming, and evaluation rules. See also: null coalescing, default values, and fallback strategies.