In PHP you can do if(isset($array['foo'])) { ... }. In JavaScript you often use if(array.foo) { ... } to do the same, but this is not exactly the same statement. The condition will also evaluate to false if array.foo does exists but is false or 0 (and probably other values as well).
What is the perfect equivalent of PHP's isset in JavaScript?
In a broader sense, a general, complete guide on JavaScript's handling of variables that don't exist, variables without a value, etc. would be convenient.
Update: 11 years and 11 months ago I posted this question, and wow, it still gets a lot of activity. Now, I'm pretty sure that when I wrote this, I only wanted to know how to check for the presence of a property in an associative array (a.k.a. dictionary), and as such the correct (for me) answers involve hasOwnProperty or the in operator. I wasn't interested in checking local or global variables.
But while I remember that well, that intent is not quite clear in the question as written, or even directly contradicted by it! I never mentioned the associative array, and PHP's isset does also do those other things. Let this be a lesson to all of us about how important it is to properly state your requirements in a question, and also how global variables, local variables, object properties, dictionary keys and what-have-you aren't Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
In the meantime (heh), many many people have provided answers to that effect as well, so for those of you who found this question through Google, well, I'm glad my vagueness helped in a way I guess. Anyway, just wanted to clarify that.
I generally use the typeof operator:
if (typeof obj.foo !== 'undefined') {
// your code here
}
It will return "undefined" either if the property doesn't exist or its value is undefined.
(See also: Difference between undefined and not being defined.)
There are other ways to figure out if a property exists on an object, like the hasOwnProperty method:
if (obj.hasOwnProperty('foo')) {
// your code here
}
And the in operator:
if ('foo' in obj) {
// your code here
}
The difference between the last two is that the hasOwnProperty method will check if the property exist physically on the object (the property is not inherited).
The in operator will check on all the properties reachable up in the prototype chain, e.g.:
var obj = { foo: 'bar'};
obj.hasOwnProperty('foo'); // true
obj.hasOwnProperty('toString'); // false
'toString' in obj; // true
As you can see, hasOwnProperty returns false and the in operator returns true when checking the toString method, this method is defined up in the prototype chain, because obj inherits form Object.prototype.
Age old thread, but there are new ways to run an equivalent isset().
ESNext (Stage 4 December 2019)
Two new syntax allow us to vastly simplify the use of isset() functionality:
Optional Chaining(?.)
Nullish Coalescing Operator(??)
Please read the docs and mind the browser compatibility.
Answer
See below for explanation. Note I use StandardJS syntax
Example Usage
// IMPORTANT pass a function to our isset() that returns the value we're
// trying to test(ES6 arrow function)
isset(() => some) // false
// Defining objects
let some = { nested: { value: 'hello' } }
// More tests that never throw an error
isset(() => some) // true
isset(() => some.nested) // true
isset(() => some.nested.value) // true
isset(() => some.nested.deeper.value) // false
// Less compact but still viable except when trying to use `this` context
isset(function () { return some.nested.deeper.value }) // false
Answer Function
/**
* Checks to see if a value is set.
*
* #param {Function} accessor Function that returns our value
* #returns {Boolean} Value is not undefined or null
*/
function isset (accessor) {
try {
// Note we're seeing if the returned value of our function is not
// undefined or null
return accessor() !== undefined && accessor() !== null
} catch (e) {
// And we're able to catch the Error it would normally throw for
// referencing a property of undefined
return false
}
}
NPM Package
This answer function is available as the isset-php package on NPM. The package contains a few improvements such as type checking and supporting multiple arguments.
npm install --save isset-php
The full documentation is available in the README.
const isset = require('isset-php')
let val = ''
// This will evaluate to true so the text will be printed.
if (isset(() => val)) {
console.log('This val is set so I will print.')
}
Explanation
PHP
Note that in PHP you can reference any variable at any depth - even trying to
access a non-array as an array will return a simple true or false:
// Referencing an undeclared variable
isset($some); // false
$some = 'hello';
// Declared but has no depth(not an array)
isset($some); // true
isset($some['nested']); // false
$some = ['nested' => 'hello'];
// Declared as an array but not with the depth we're testing for
isset($some['nested']); // true
isset($some['nested']['deeper']); // false
JavaScript
In JavaScript, we don't have that freedom; we'll always get an error if we do
the same because the engine is immediately attempting to access the value of deeper before we can wrap it in our isset() function so...
// Common pitfall answer(ES6 arrow function)
const isset = (ref) => typeof ref !== 'undefined'
// Same as above
function isset (ref) { return typeof ref !== 'undefined' }
// Referencing an undeclared variable will throw an error, so no luck here
isset(some) // Error: some is not defined
// Defining a simple object with no properties - so we aren't defining
// the property `nested`
let some = {}
// Simple checking if we have a declared variable
isset(some) // true
// Now trying to see if we have a top level property, still valid
isset(some.nested) // false
// But here is where things fall apart: trying to access a deep property
// of a complex object; it will throw an error
isset(some.nested.deeper) // Error: Cannot read property 'deeper' of undefined
// ^^^^^^ undefined
More failing alternatives:
// Any way we attempt to access the `deeper` property of `nested` will
// throw an error
some.nested.deeper.hasOwnProperty('value') // Error
// ^^^^^^ undefined
// Similar to the above but safe from objects overriding `hasOwnProperty`
Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(some.nested.deeper, 'value') // Error
// ^^^^^^ undefined
// Same goes for typeof
typeof some.nested.deeper !== 'undefined' // Error
// ^^^^^^ undefined
And some working alternatives that can get redundant fast:
// Wrap everything in try...catch
try {
if (isset(some.nested.deeper)) {
// ...
}
} catch (e) {}
try {
if (some.nested.deeper !== undefined && some.nested.deeper !== null) {
// ...
}
} catch (e) {}
// Or by chaining all of the isset which can get long
isset(some) && isset(some.nested) && isset(some.nested.deeper) // false
// ^^^^^^ returns false so the next isset() is never run
Conclusion
All of the other answers - though most are viable...
Assume you're only checking to see if the variable is not undefined which
is fine for some use cases but can still throw an Error
Assume you're only trying to access a top level property, which again is
fine for some use cases
Force you to use a less than ideal approach relative to PHP's isset()
e.g. isset(some, 'nested.deeper.value')
Use eval() which works but I personally avoid
I think I covered a lot of it. There are some points I make in my answer that I
don't touch upon because they - although relevant - are not part of the
question(e.g. short circuiting). If need be, though, I can update my answer with links to some of the
more technical aspects based on demand.
I spent waaay to much time on this so hopefully it helps people out.
Thank-you for reading!
Reference to SOURCE
module.exports = function isset () {
// discuss at: http://locutus.io/php/isset/
// original by: Kevin van Zonneveld (http://kvz.io)
// improved by: FremyCompany
// improved by: Onno Marsman (https://twitter.com/onnomarsman)
// improved by: Rafał Kukawski (http://blog.kukawski.pl)
// example 1: isset( undefined, true)
// returns 1: false
// example 2: isset( 'Kevin van Zonneveld' )
// returns 2: true
var a = arguments
var l = a.length
var i = 0
var undef
if (l === 0) {
throw new Error('Empty isset')
}
while (i !== l) {
if (a[i] === undef || a[i] === null) {
return false
}
i++
}
return true
}
phpjs.org is mostly retired in favor of locutus
Here is the new link http://locutus.io/php/var/isset
if (!('foo' in obj)) {
// not set.
}
//
// tring to reference non-existing variable throws ReferenceError
// before test function is even executed
//
// example, if you do:
//
// if ( isset( someVar ) )
// doStuff( someVar );
//
// you get a ReferenceError ( if there is no someVar... )
// and isset fn doesn't get executed.
//
// if you pass variable name as string, ex. isset( 'novar' );,
// this might work:
//
function isset ( strVariableName ) {
try {
eval( strVariableName );
} catch( err ) {
if ( err instanceof ReferenceError )
return false;
}
return true;
}
//
//
This simple solution works, but not for deep object check.
function isset(str) {
return window[str] !== undefined;
}
I always use this generic function to prevent errrors on primitive variables as well as arrays and objects.
isset = function(obj) {
var i, max_i;
if(obj === undefined) return false;
for (i = 1, max_i = arguments.length; i < max_i; i++) {
if (obj[arguments[i]] === undefined) {
return false;
}
obj = obj[arguments[i]];
}
return true;
};
console.log(isset(obj)); // returns false
var obj = 'huhu';
console.log(isset(obj)); // returns true
obj = {hallo:{hoi:'hoi'}};
console.log(isset(obj, 'niet')); // returns false
console.log(isset(obj, 'hallo')); // returns true
console.log(isset(obj, 'hallo', 'hallo')); // returns false
console.log(isset(obj, 'hallo', 'hoi')); // returns true
This solution worked for me.
function isset(object){
return (typeof object !=='undefined');
}
If you are using underscorejs I always use
if (!_.isUndefined(data) && !_.isNull(data)) {
//your stuff
}
This is a pretty bulletproof solution for testing if a variable exists :
var setOrNot = typeof variable !== typeof undefined ? true : false;
Unfortunately, you cannot simply encapsulate it in a function.
You might think of doing something like this :
function isset(variable) {
return typeof variable !== typeof undefined ? true : false;
}
However, this will produce a reference error if variable variable has not been defined, because you cannot pass along a non-existing variable to a function :
Uncaught ReferenceError: foo is not defined
On the other hand, it does allow you to test whether function parameters are undefined :
var a = '5';
var test = function(x, y) {
console.log(isset(x));
console.log(isset(y));
};
test(a);
// OUTPUT :
// ------------
// TRUE
// FALSE
Even though no value for y is passed along to function test, our isset function works perfectly in this context, because y is known in function test as an undefined value.
window.isset = function(v_var) {
if(typeof(v_var) == 'number'){ if(isNaN(v_var)){ return false; }}
if(typeof(v_var) == 'undefined' || v_var === null){ return false; } else { return true; }
};
plus Tests:
https://gist.github.com/daylik/24acc318b6abdcdd63b46607513ae073
(typeof SOMETHING) !== 'undefined'
It's too long to write when used. But we can't package the typeof keyword into a function, because an error will thrown before the function is called, like this:
function isdef($var) {
return (typeof $var) !== 'undefined';
}
isdef(SOMETHING); ///// thrown error: SOMETHING is not defined
So I figured out a way:
function isdef($type) {
return $type !== 'undefined';
}
isdef(typeof SOMETHING);
It can work both with individual variables (variables that does not exist at all), or object properties (non-existent properties). And only 7 more characters than PHP isset.
function isset(variable) {
try {
return typeof eval(variable) !== 'undefined';
} catch (err) {
return false;
}
}
To check wether html block is existing or not, I'm using this code:
if (typeof($('selector').html()) != 'undefined') {
// $('selector') is existing
// your code here
}
Provide the object path as a string, then you can break this string into a path and resolve hasOwnProperty at each step while overwriting the object itself with each iteration.
If you are coding in ES6 environment, take a look at this stackoverflow Ques.
var a;
a = {
b: {
c: 'e'
}
};
function isset (obj, path) {
var stone;
path = path || '';
if (path.indexOf('[') !== -1) {
throw new Error('Unsupported object path notation.');
}
path = path.split('.');
do {
if (obj === undefined) {
return false;
}
stone = path.shift();
if (!obj.hasOwnProperty(stone)) {
return false;
}
obj = obj[stone];
} while (path.length);
return true;
}
console.log(
isset(a, 'b') == true,
isset(a, 'b.c') == true,
isset(a, 'b.c.d') == false,
isset(a, 'b.c.d.e') == false,
isset(a, 'b.c.d.e.f') == false
);
I use a function that can check variables and objects. very convenient to work with jQuery
function _isset (variable) {
if(typeof(variable) == "undefined" || variable == null)
return false;
else
if(typeof(variable) == "object" && !variable.length)
return false;
else
return true;
};
Try to create function like empty function of PHP in Javascript.
May this helps.
function empty(str){
try{
if(typeof str==="string"){
str=str.trim();
}
return !(str !== undefined && str !== "undefined" && str !== null && str!=="" && str!==0 && str!==false);
}catch(ex){
return true;
}
}
console.log(empty(0))//true
console.log(empty(null))//true
console.log(empty(" "))//true
console.log(empty(""))//true
console.log(empty(undefined))//true
console.log(empty("undefined"))//true
var tmp=1;
console.log(empty(tmp))//false
var tmp="Test";
console.log(empty(tmp))//false
var tmp=" Test ";
console.log(empty(tmp))//false
var tmp={a:1,b:false,c:0};
console.log(empty(tmp.a))//false
console.log(empty(tmp.b))//true
console.log(empty(tmp.c))//true
console.log(empty(tmp.c))//true
console.log(empty(tmp.c.d))//true
finally i solved problem with easy solution :
if (obj && obj.foo && obj.foo='somethings'){
console.log('i,m work without error')
}
PHP Manual say:
isset — Determine if a variable is set and is not NULL
And interface something like this:
bool isset ( mixed $var [, mixed $... ] )
The parameter $var is the variable to be checked. it can have any number of parameter though.
isset() returns TRUE if var exists and has value other than NULL. FALSE otherwise.
Some example:
$foo = 'bar';
var_dump(isset($foo)); -> true
$baz = null;
var_dump(isset($baz)); -> false
var_dump(isset($undefined)); -> false
As this in mind, Apparently, It's not possible to write exact equivalent of php isset() function.
For example when we call like this:
if (isset(some_var)) {
}
function issset() {
// function definition
}
Javascript trigger Uncaught ReferenceError: some_var is not defined at (file_name):line_number.
The important and remarkable thing about this behavior is that when trying to pass non-existent variables to normal functions, an error is triggered.
But in PHP isset() are not actually regular functions but language constructs. That means they're part of the PHP language itself, do not play by the normal rules of functions and can hence get away with not triggering an error for non-existent variables. This is important when trying to figure out whether a variable exists or not. But in javscript, it triggers an error in the first place say function call with non-existent variables.
My point is that we can't write it as equivlent javscript function but we can do something like this
if (typeof some_var !== 'undefined') {
// your code here
}
If you want exact same effect PHP also check varable is not NULL
For example
$baz = null;
var_dump(isset($baz)); -> false
So, we can incorporate this into javascript then it look like this:
if (typeof some_var !== 'undefined' && some_var !== null) {
// your code here
}
It was really a problem for me when I was accessing a deeper property of an object so I made a function which will return the property value if exist otherwise it will return false. You may use it to save your time,
//Object on which we want to test
var foo = {
bar: {
bik: {
baz: 'Hello world'
}
}
};
/*
USE: To get value from the object using it properties supplied (Deeper),
if found it will return the property value if not found then will return false
You can use this function in two ways
WAY - 1:
Passing an object as parameter 1 and array of the properties as parameter 2
EG: getValueFromObject(foo, ['bar', 'bik', 'baz']);
WAY - 2: (This will work only if, your object available in window object)
Passing an STRING as parameter 1(Just similarly how we retrieve value form object using it's properties - difference is only the quote)
EG: getValueFromObject('foo.bar.bik.baz');
*/
function getValueFromObject(object, properties) {
if(typeof(object) == 'string') { //Here we extract our object and it's properties from the string
properties = object.split('.');
object = window[properties[0]];
if(typeof(object) == 'undefined') {
return false;
}
properties.shift();
}
var property = properties[0];
properties.shift();
if(object != null && typeof(object[property]) != 'undefined') {
if(typeof(object[property]) == 'object') {
if(properties.length != 0) {
return getValueFromObject(object[property], properties); //Recursive call to the function
} else {
return object[property];
}
} else {
return object[property];
}
} else {
return false;
}
}
console.log(getValueFromObject('fooo.bar.bik.baz')); //false
console.log(getValueFromObject('foo.bar.bik.baz')); //Hello world
console.log(getValueFromObject('foo')); //false
console.log(getValueFromObject('foo.bar.bik')); //returns an object { baz: 'Hello World' }
console.log(getValueFromObject(foo, ['bar', 'bik'])); //returns an object { baz: 'Hello World' }
console.log(getValueFromObject(foo, ['bar', 'bik', 'baz']));//Hello world
If you want to check if an element exists, just use the following code:
if (object) {
//if isset, return true
} else {
//else return false
}
This is sample:
function switchDiv() {
if (document.querySelector("#divId")) {
document.querySelector("#divId").remove();
} else {
var newDiv = document.createElement("div");
newDiv.id = "divId";
document.querySelector("body").appendChild(newDiv);
}
}
document.querySelector("#btn").addEventListener("click", switchDiv);
#divId {
background: red;
height: 100px;
width: 100px;
position: relative;
}
<body>
<button id="btn">Let's Diiiv!</button>
</body>
Be careful in ES6, all the previous solutions doesn't work if you want to check a declaration of a let variable and declare it, if it isn't
example
let myTest = 'text';
if(typeof myTest === "undefined") {
var myTest = 'new text'; // can't be a let because let declare in a scope
}
you will see a error
Uncaught SyntaxError: Identifier 'myTest' has already been declared
The solution was to change it by a var
var myTest = 'text'; // I replace let by a var
if(typeof myTest === "undefined") {
var myTest = 'new text';
}
another solution if you can change a let by a var, you need to remove your var
let myTest = 'text';
if(typeof myTest === "undefined") {
myTest = 'new text'; // I remove the var declaration
}
try {
const value = array.foo.object.value;
// isset true
} catch (err) {
// isset false
}
use this function for arrays or nested array (but not for strings)
if(isset(array,'key1=>key1')){alert('isset');}
https://jsfiddle.net/dazzafact/cgav6psr/
arr={nested:{nested2:{val:'isset'}}}
if(t=isset(arr,'nested=>nested2=>val','=>')){
alert(t)
}
function isset(obj,nested,split) {
var sep=split || '.';
var dub=obj
var isset=false
if(typeof(obj)!="undefined" && typeof(nested)!="undefined"){
var arr=nested.split(sep);
for(var k in arr){
var key=arr[k];
if(typeof(dub[key])=="undefined"){
isset=false;
break;
}
dub=dub[key];
isset=dub
}
}
return isset;
}
isset('user.permissions.saveProject', args);
function isset(string, context) {
try {
var arr = string.split('.');
var checkObj = context || window;
for (var i in arr) {
if (checkObj[arr[i]] === undefined) return false;
checkObj = checkObj[arr[i]];
}
return true;
} catch (e) {
return false;
}
}
if (var) {
// This is the most concise equivalent of Php's isset().
}
javascript isset
let test = {
a: {
b: [0, 1]
}
};
console.log(test.isset('a.b')) // true
console.log(test.isset('a.b.1')) // true
console.log(test.isset('a.b.5')) // false
console.log(test.isset('a.c')) // false
console.log('abv'.isset('0')) // true
This is the most concise equivalent of Php's isset() :
if(var == undefined)
true this is var !isset
false this is var isset
Related
In JavaScript, comparisons that involve undefined properties are evaluated as false, rather than throwing an error, even in "strict" mode.
This has created more than one hard-to-resolve bug in my code.
Is there any way to a) detect these mistakes, or b) mitigate against them?
> let x = {foo: 1}
> x.foo == 2 // Sensible behaviour
false
> x.floo // Where floo is a typo.
ReferenceError: floo is not defined
> x.floo == 2 // Nonsensical behaviour
false
Although #jonrsharpe is absolutely right that you should use Typescript if you need that level of control, just for fun, here's a pure javascript implementation. Wrap your object in strict(...) and you will get reference errors on undefined props:
const SPECIAL_PROPS = [
// well-known symbols
...Object.getOwnPropertyNames(Symbol).map(p => Symbol[p]),
// used by JSON.strinfigy
'toJSON',
// something else?
];
let strict = obj => new Proxy(obj, {
get(t, p) {
if (p in t)
return t[p];
if (!SPECIAL_PROPS.includes(p))
throw new ReferenceError(`property ${String(p)} is not defined`);
}
});
let x = strict({foo: 1})
x.foo == 2 // Sensible behaviour
x.floo == 2 // Reference error
Needless to say, this is a purely runtime check, which kinda defeats the whole purpose.
You can try using a Proxy
let x = {foo: 1}
let handler = {
get: function(target,prop,reciver){
if(!target.hasOwnProperty(prop)){
throw new Error('Sorry property do not exist')
} else{
return target[prop]
}
}
}
let proxy = new Proxy(x,handler)
console.log(proxy.foo)
console.log(proxy.floo)
You can check item === undefined.
Or define additional property .isNull() in Object prototype that covers this case:
Object.defineProperty(Object.prototype, 'isNull', {
value: function (obj) {
return (obj === null || obj === undefined);
}
});
Usage:
if(Object.isNull(x)) {
....
}
I could swear that once upon a time, I came across some code that used some js library (maybe lodash??) to do a "deep" check for whether something is defined.
Example:
someLib.isDefined(anObject.aNestedObject.anotherNestedObject);
(would return true if anotherNestedObject is defined, but would return false (and not throw an exception) if anObject or aNestedObject were undefined.
Did I totally dream that, or is there some well-known function out there that does that?
As I wrote in my comment I don't think that it's possible.
The expression anObject.aNestedObject.anotherNestedObject is evaluated before the someLib.isDefined function is invoked so an exception will be thrown (if anObject or aNestedObject don't exist) before the function had a chance to do anything.
Maybe if you'd pass it as a string: someLib.isDefined("anObject.aNestedObject.anotherNestedObject")
But, it's easy to check that like this:
if (anObject && anObject.aNestedObject && anObject.aNestedObject.anotherNestedObject) {
...
}
Or just implement your own function, it's pretty simple:
function exists(obj: any, keys: string | string[]) {
if (typeof keys === "string") {
keys = keys.split(".");
}
return keys.every(key => {
if (!obj) {
return false;
}
obj = obj[key];
return true;
});
}
(code in playground)
Lodash's has():
_.has(object, path)
Example:
var object = {a: {b: 'test', c: 'test2'}};
_.has(object, 'a.b');
// => true
_.has(object, 'a.d');
// => false
Full documentation
Source code for _.has()
No there is no well-known function to do this, but you can check it safely in this way:
if (typeof anObject != "undefined"
&& typeof anObject.aNestedObject != "undefined"
&& typeof anObject.aNestedObject.anotherNestedObject != "undefined") {
console.log("defined");
}else{
console.log("undefined");
}
In javascript using an object parameter is my preferred way of working with functions. To check that a function has the required parameters I either (Solution 1) loop through all the object parameters properties and throw an error or (Solution 2) wait until a required property is needed and throw an error. Solution two seems efficient but I have to throws in multiple places in the function. Solution 1 seems pragmatic but should probably be a reusable piece of code. Is there another solution I should be looking at?
You can actually do this
var propsNeeded = ["prop1", "prop2", "blah", "blah", "blah"],
obj = {
prop1: "Hi"
}
function hasRequiredProperties(props, obj){
return Object.keys(obj).sort().join() == propsNeeded.sort().join();
}
console.log(hasRequiredProperties(propsNeeded, obj)); // false
You can check for single properties like
function hasProperty(propName, obj){
return obj.hasOwnProperty(propName);
}
For consistency I would create require method and use it always when some property is required.
var require = function (key, object) {
if (typeof object[key] === 'undefined') {
throw new Error('Required property ' + key + ' is undefined');
}
};
I would test if required property exists as soon as I'm certain that property is needed. Like this:
var example = function (args) {
require('alwaysRequired', args);
// some code here which uses property alwaysRequired
if (args.something) {
require('sometimesRequired', args);
// some code here which uses property sometimesRequired
}
};
Using #Amit's answer I'd probably add a method to Object itself:
Object.prototype.hasAllProperties = function(props, fire){
var result = Object.keys(this).sort().join() == propsNeeded.sort().join();
if (fire && !result){
throw new Error('Object does not define all properties');
}
return result;
}
and in your function:
function someFunction(myObject){
var objComplete = myObject.hasAllProperties(["prop1", "prop2", "prop3"], false);
}
Update:
After noticing the problem with #Amit's original answer, here's what I suggest:
Object.prototype.hasAllProperties = function(props, fire){
var result = true;
$(props).each(function(i, e){
if (!this.hasOwnProperty(e) ) {
result = false;
return false;
}
});
if (fire && !result){
throw new Error('Object does not define all properties');
}
return result;
}
This is just a general case of checking for presence of keys on a object, which can be done easily enough with
requiredParams.every(function(prop) { return prop in paramObj; })
It almost reads like natural language. "Taking the required parameters, is EVERY one of them IN the parameter object?".
Just wrap this in function checkParams(paramObj, requiredParams) for easy re-use.
More generally, this is the problem of asking if one list (in this case the list of required parameters) is included in another list (the keys on the params object). So we can write a general routine for list inclusion:
function listIncluded(list1, list2) {
return list1.every(function(e) { return list2.indexOf(e) !== -1; });
}
Then our parameter-checking becomes
function checkParams(paramObj, requiredParams) {
return listIncluded(requiredParams, Object.keys(paramObj));
}
If you want to know if object has at least some properties you can use this function without third parameter:
function hasRequiredProperties(propsNeeded, obj, strict) {
if (strict) return Object.keys(obj).sort().join() == propsNeeded.sort().join();
for (var i in propsNeeded ) {
if (!obj.hasOwnProperty(propsNeeded[i])) return false;
}
return true;
};
Example:
options = {url: {
protocol: 'https:',
hostname: 'encrypted.google.com',
port: '80'
}
};
propsNeeded = ['protocol', 'hostname'];
hasRequiredProperties(propsNeeded, options.url); // true
hasRequiredProperties(propsNeeded, options.url, true); // false
This question already has answers here:
Test for existence of nested JavaScript object key
(64 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
a "problem" which i have every now and then is that i have an object e.g. user = {} and through the course of using the app this gets populated. Let's say somwhere, after an AJAX call or something i do this:
user.loc = {
lat: 50,
long: 9
}
At another place i want to check if user.loc.lat exists.
if (user.loc.lat) {
// do something
}
If it does not exists, this will cause an error. If user.loc.lat is undefined, user.loc of course is undefined as well.
"Cannot read property 'lat' of null" - Dev Tools error
That means I need to check it like this:
if (user.loc) {
if (user.loc.lat) {
// do something
}
}
or
if (user.loc && user.loc.lat) {
// do something
}
This isn't really pretty and the bigger my objects are the worse it gets - obviously (imagine 10 levels of nesting).
It kind bums me that if(user.loc.lat) isn't just returning false if user.loc is undefined as well.
What's the ideal way to check situations like this?
You can use an utility function like this:
get = function(obj, key) {
return key.split(".").reduce(function(o, x) {
return (typeof o == "undefined" || o === null) ? o : o[x];
}, obj);
}
Usage:
get(user, 'loc.lat') // 50
get(user, 'loc.foo.bar') // undefined
Or, to check only if a property exists, without getting its value:
has = function(obj, key) {
return key.split(".").every(function(x) {
if(typeof obj != "object" || obj === null || ! x in obj)
return false;
obj = obj[x];
return true;
});
}
if(has(user, 'loc.lat')) ...
You can combine the checks using lazy and:
if(user.loc && user.loc.lat) { ...
Or, you use CoffeeScript. And ES2020 has new syntax ( Nullish coalescing Operator ).
user.loc?.lat?. '...'
which would run the checks for loc property and safeguard against empty objects.
Well, javascript has try-catch. Depending on what you actually need to do (i.e. what your else statement would look like if it's undefined), that may be what you want.
example:
try {
user.loc.lat.doSomething();
} catch(error) {
//report
}
Try this if(user && user.loc && user.loc.lat) {...}
You can check value of null and undefined using typeof
If .loc has value false than you can try
if(user && user.loc && typeof(user.loc)!=="undefined"){...}
If you have a huge nested object than have a look at
Source.
function checkNested(obj /*, level1, level2, ... levelN*/) {
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments),
obj = args.shift();
for (var i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
if (!obj.hasOwnProperty(args[i])) {
return false;
}
obj = obj[args[i]];
}
return true;
}
var test = {level1:{level2:{level3:'level3'}} };
checkNested(test, 'level1', 'level2', 'level3'); // true
checkNested(test, 'level1', 'level2', 'foo'); // false
Update:
Try lodash.get
I'm having trouble figuring out how I can take a string of an object name and check if that object actually exists.
What I'm trying to accomplish is have an array the defines the required objects for a particular JavaScript "module" to work, for instance:
var requiredImports = ['MyApp.Object1', 'MyApp.Object2'];
Then using requiredImports, I want to loop over them and check if the are defined. Without using the above array, I can do the following which is what I'm trying to accomplish:
if (MyApp.Object1 == undefined) {
alert('Missing MyApp.Object1');
}
But using the above, I'd have to hard code this for every module rather than making a generic method that I can just pass it an array of strings and have it effectively do the same check for me.
I tried doing this by just passing it the objects themselves such as:
var requiredImports = [MyApp.Object1, MyApp.Object2];
But that throws a JavaScript error when those objects do not exist, which is what I'm trying to catch.
var MyApp = {
Object1: {}
};
function exists(varName, scope) {
var parent = scope || window;
try {
varName.split('.').forEach(function (name) {
if (parent[name] === undefined) {
throw 'undefined';
}
parent = parent[name];
});
}
catch (ex) {
return false;
}
return true;
}
console.log(
exists('MyApp.Object1'), // true
exists('MyApp.Object2'), // false
exists('window'), // true
exists('document'), // true
exists('window.document') // true
);
// or
console.log(
['MyApp.Object1', 'MyApp.Object2', 'window', 'document', 'window.document'].filter(function (varName) {
return !exists(varName);
})
);
// => ["MyApp.Object2"]
Note: that forEach is ES5 and as such not implemented in some browsers. But if you'd go with this solution, there is a nice polyfill here.
You can check for definedness with
if ( typeof window['MyApp'] === 'undefined' ||
typeof window['MyApp']['Object1'] === 'undefined' )
{
alert('Missing MyApp.Object1');
}
and so on.
Assuming MyApp.Object1 is a global scope, window is the parent object and since that is the top level object, you don't need to prefix your global vars with it. So window.MyApp.Object1 is the same as MyApp.Object1 (again, assuming this is within global scope).
Also, in javascript, MyApp['Object1'] is the same as MyApp.Object1. So if we apply this principle to the main window object, you can check for window['MyApp'] or window['MyApp']['Object1'] and the key here is that you can replace 'MyApp' and 'Object1' with a variable.
Example:
/* check if a variable/object exists in the global scope) */
function checkIfExists(someVar) {
if (typeof(window[someVar]) == 'undefined')
return true;
return false;
}
var foo = 'bar';
alert(checkIfExists('foo'));
You can evaluate your custom expression in JavaScript. Consider the code below:
var MyApp = {
Object1: "foo",
Object2: "bar"
};
var IsExists = function(varName) {
return new Function('return typeof(' + varName + ') === "undefined" ? false : true;')();
};
USAGE
var requiredImports = ['MyApp.Object1', 'MyApp.Object2'];
for (var i = 0; i < requiredImports.length; i++)
{
alert(requiredImports[i] + ": " + IsExists(requiredImports[i]))
}
You only get error for first level (MyApp in your example). I assume you have only a few first-level requires, so check them manually by window[x] which does not throw:
var requiredTopLevel = ['MyApp'];
for (var i = 0; i < requiredTopLevel.length; ++i) {
if ("undefined" === typeof window[requiredTopLevel[i]]) {
// problem with requiredTopLevel[i]
}
}
and then, to check nested requires (if top-level is present) you can use the values without fear. For example this will work:
var requiredNested = { 'Object1':MyApp.Object1, 'Object2':Myapp.Object2 };
for (var name in requiredNested) {
if ("undefined" === typeof requiredNested[name]) {
// problem with name
}
}