Can someone explain this Javascript code?

Question

var renderList = function(data){
	list = data == null ? [] : (data instanceof Array ? data : [date]);
};

husoski · Answer

That defines a function named "renderList" that sets a global variable named "list" to the input value, converted to:
...an empty array, if the input is null, or
...a reference to the original value if it's an array, or
...a an array whose only entry is (date), otherwise.

It looks like "date" is a typo and that "data" was meant.

It also looks like the author is new to programming, since the normal thing to do with such a function is to return the array as a function result rather than assigning it to a global variable.  Global variables generally cause more problems than they solve.

Can someone explain this Javascript code?

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