Transform data with filters and plugins →mediumMultiple Choice

EX294 Transform data with filters and plugins Practice Question

You have a list `my_list` containing `[0, 1, 2, '', 'hello']`. You want to extract the first truthy element that exists. Which chain achieves this?

⚠ Common exam trap

It's easy for candidates to think `first` alone returns the first truthy element, but it actually returns the first element regardless of its truthiness, leading to a falsy result like `0` or `''`.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

`my_list | select('truthy') | first | default('')`

`select('truthy')` filters the list to include only elements that evaluate to `true` in Ansible/Jinja2 (non-zero numbers, non-empty strings, etc.), and `first` returns the first such element. The `default('')` provides a fallback if no truthy element exists. This chain correctly extracts `1` from the list `[0, 1, 2, '', 'hello']`.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✓
`my_list | select('truthy') | first | default('')`
Why this is correct
Correct; select truthy, then first, then default.
✗
`my_list | list | first | default('')`
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; list conversion does not help.
✗
`my_list | select('string') | first | default('')`
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; select('string') picks only strings, missing 1,2.
✗
`my_list | first | default('')`
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; `first` returns 0, which is falsy, and default may not trigger.

Go deeper

EX294 Transform data with filters and plugins Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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