Detecting an undefined object property in JavaScript

I believe there are a number of incorrect answers to this topic. Contrary to common belief "undefined" is NOT a keyword in javascript, and can in fact have a value assigned to it.

// Degenerate code. DO NOT USE.
var undefined = false;  // Shockingly, this is completely legal!
if(myVar === undefined) {
 alert("You have been misled. Run away!");
}

Additionally, myVar === undefined will raise an error in the situation where myVar is undeclared.

The most robust way to perform this test is:

if(typeof myVar === "undefined")

This will always return the correct result, and even handles the situation where myVar is not declared.

In JavaScript there is null and there is undefined. They have different meanings.

• undefined means that the variable value has not been defined; it is not known what the value is.
• null means that the variable value is defined and set to null (has no value).

Marijn Haverbeke states, in his free, online book "Eloquent JavaScript" (emphasis mine):

There is also a similar value, null, whose meaning is 'this value is defined, but it does not have a value'. The difference in meaning between undefined and null is mostly academic, and usually not very interesting. In practical programs, it is often necessary to check whether something 'has a value'. In these cases, the expression something == undefined may be used, because, even though they are not exactly the same value, null == undefined will produce true.

So, I guess the best way to check if something was undefined would be:

if (something == undefined)

Hope this helps!

Edit: In response to your edit, object properties should work the same way.

var person = {
    name: "John",
    age: 28,
    sex: "male"
};

alert(person.name); // "John"
alert(person.fakeVariable); // undefined

if ( typeof( something ) == "undefined") 

This worked for me while the others didn't.

The issue boils down to three cases:

1. The object has the property and its value is not undefined.
2. The object has the property and its value is undefined.
3. The object does not have the property.

This tells us something I consider important:

There is a difference between an undefined member and a defined member with an undefined value.

But unhappily typeof obj.foo does not tell us which of the three cases we have. However we can combine this with "foo" in obj to distinguish the cases.

                               |  typeof obj.x === 'undefined' | !("x" in obj)
1.                     { x:1 } |  false                        | false
2.    { x : (function(){})() } |  true                         | false
3.                          {} |  true                         | true

Its worth noting that these tests are the same for null entries too

                               |  typeof obj.x === 'undefined' | !("x" in obj)
                    { x:null } |  false                        | false

I'd argue that in some cases it makes more sense (and is clearer) to check whether the property is there, than checking whether it is undefined, and the only case where this check will be different is case 2, the rare case of an actual entry in the object with an undefined value.

For example: I've just been refactoring a bunch of code that had a bunch of checks whether an object had a given property.

if( typeof blob.x != 'undefined' ) {  fn(blob.x); }

Which was clearer when written without a check for undefined.

if( "x" in blob ) { fn(blob.x); }

But as has been mentioned these are not exactly the same (but are more than good enough for my needs).

I'm not sure where the origin of using === with typeof came from, and as a convention I see it used in many libraries, but the typeof operator returns a string literal, and we know that up front, so why would you also want to type check it too?

typeof x;                      // some string literal "string", "object", "undefined"
if (typeof x === "string") {   // === is redundant because we already know typeof returns a string literal
if (typeof x == "string") {    // sufficient

Ok. What does this mean: "undefined object property"? Actually it can mean two quite different things! First, it can mean the property that has been never defined in object and, second, it can mean the property that has undefined value. Let's see at this code:

var o = { a: undefined }

Is o.a undefined? Yes! Its value is undefined. Is o.b undefined? Sure! There is no property 'b' at all! Ok, see now how different approaches behave in both situations:

typeof o.a == 'undefined' // true
typeof o.b == 'undefined' // true
o.a === undefined // true
o.b === undefined // true
'a' in o // true
'b' in o // false

So we can clearly see that typeof obj.prop == 'undefined' and obj.prop === undefined are equivalent and they do not distinguish that different situations. And 'prop' in obj can detect the situation when property hasn't been defined at all and doesn't pay attention to the property value which may be undefined.

So what to do?

1) You want to know if property is undefined by either first or second meaning (most typical situation).

typeof obj.prop == 'undefined' // IMHO, see "final fight" below

2) You want to just know if object has some property and don't care of its value.

'prop' in obj

Notes:

• You can't check object and its property at the same time. For example, this x.a === undefined or this typeof x.a == 'undefined' raises ReferenceError: x is not defined if x is not defined.
• Variable undefined is a global variable (so actually it is window.undefined in browsers). It is supported since ECMAScript 1st Edition and since ECMAScript 5 it is read only. So in modern browsers it can't be redefined to true as many authors love to frighten us but this still a true for older browsers.

Final fight: obj.prop === undefined vs typeof obj.prop == 'undefined'

Pluses of obj.prop === undefined:

• it's a bit shorter and looks a bit prettier
• js engine will give you an error if you have misspelled undefined

Minuses of obj.prop === undefined:

• undefined can be overridden in old browsers

Pluses of typeof obj.prop == 'undefined':

• it is really universal! It works in new and old browsers.

Minuses of typeof obj.prop == 'undefined':

• 'undefned' here is just a string constant, so js engine can't help you if you have misspelled it like I just did

Update (for server side JS):

Node.js supports global variable undefined as global.undefined (also can be used without 'global' prefix). I don't know about other implementations of server side JS.

It's better to use the strict equality operator:

if (variable === undefined) {
   alert('not defined');
}

x == undefined also checks whether x is null, while strict equality does not (if that matters).(source)

Or you can simply do this:

if (!variable) {
   alert('not defined');
}

Here you check if there's any value that can make the variable look false (undefined, null, 0, false, ...). Not a good method for integers ('0' is not false), but might do well for object properties.

I hate to add yet another answer to an old question, but many existing ones are misleading at best.

Never use typeof x === "undefined". (Or == "undefined" for that matter.) As with all “never”s, there are a few exceptional cases, but the majority of the time? If you don’t know whether a real variable is defined in your current scope, you are doing something wrong. The typeof check is really useful if you want to introduce a ton of potential for error by making a typo.

Of course, this potential already exists in the case of object properties, which appears to be the topic of this question. Let’s just ignore the typeof check, then, because it’ll do more harm than good, and it’s a pain to read. You’re intuitively checking a value, not a type.

var hasFoo = obj.foo !== undefined;

The “default value” of a property on an object is undefined. undefined can also be set as the value on a property. This is the check you will want some of the time.

var hasFoo = 'foo' in obj;

This will check for the existence of the foo property somewhere along obj’s prototype chain, regardless of value (including undefined).

var hasFoo = obj.hasOwnProperty('foo');

This will check for the existence of the foo property at the end of obj’s prototype chain, i.e. for properties directly on obj.

var hasFoo = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, 'foo');

This is the same as above, but will use the canonical hasOwnProperty in case obj also has a property named hasOwnProperty for some reason. In practice, if somebody overrode hasOwnProperty, they’d probably be a jerk in a bunch of other places and redefine undefined in scope, or alter Object or Object.prototype or Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call.

var hasFoo = obj.foo != undefined;

This one also checks for null. To make that clearer, I’d recommend using != null instead.

var hasFoo = Boolean(obj.foo); // or !!obj.foo

This checks for the other falsy values (I hope that’s obvious) – 0, NaN, false, and the empty string. Certainly practically useful for checking for function support:

if (!Array.prototype.indexOf) {
    Array.prototype.indexOf = …;
}

To sum up: don’t use typeof to check for undefined values. It is prone to error. If you make a typo in the "undefined" part, you will get the wrong answer. If you make a typo in the testing variable (if you are testing a variable – which you shouldn’t be, ever, use the global object to do that kind of feature test), you will get the wrong answer.

If you are paranoid about undefined being redefined, here’s why you shouldn’t be:

• undefined is read-only in modern browsers. If you’re developing in strict mode as you should be, attempting to assign to it will throw an error. (Even if you don’t develop in strict mode, though, it won’t change.) It’s also a non-configurable property. You will have to worry if you go “safe mode” by passing undefined into your IIFE. Never do that, for the reason outlined in this bullet point, and for the fact that…

• anybody who is redefining undefined is either an idiot or joking or something, and either wants to or deserves to have broken code. (In the “deserves to” case, note that their code is already quite broken.)

Still paranoid? Compare against void 0. void is a keyword in JavaScript, and it always has been, and it will always give you a canonical undefined.

Crossposting my answer from related question How to check for "undefined" in JavaScript?

Specific to this question, see test cases with someObject.<whatever>.

Some scenarios illustrating the results of the various answers: http://jsfiddle.net/drzaus/UVjM4/

(Note that the use of var for in tests make a difference when in a scoped wrapper)

Code for reference:

(function(undefined) {
    var definedButNotInitialized;
    definedAndInitialized = 3;
    someObject = {
        firstProp: "1"
        , secondProp: false
        // , undefinedProp not defined
    }
    // var notDefined;

    var tests = [
        'definedButNotInitialized in window',
        'definedAndInitialized in window',
        'someObject.firstProp in window',
        'someObject.secondProp in window',
        'someObject.undefinedProp in window',
        'notDefined in window',

        '"definedButNotInitialized" in window',
        '"definedAndInitialized" in window',
        '"someObject.firstProp" in window',
        '"someObject.secondProp" in window',
        '"someObject.undefinedProp" in window',
        '"notDefined" in window',

        'typeof definedButNotInitialized == "undefined"',
        'typeof definedButNotInitialized === typeof undefined',
        'definedButNotInitialized === undefined',
        '! definedButNotInitialized',
        '!! definedButNotInitialized',

        'typeof definedAndInitialized == "undefined"',
        'typeof definedAndInitialized === typeof undefined',
        'definedAndInitialized === undefined',
        '! definedAndInitialized',
        '!! definedAndInitialized',

        'typeof someObject.firstProp == "undefined"',
        'typeof someObject.firstProp === typeof undefined',
        'someObject.firstProp === undefined',
        '! someObject.firstProp',
        '!! someObject.firstProp',

        'typeof someObject.secondProp == "undefined"',
        'typeof someObject.secondProp === typeof undefined',
        'someObject.secondProp === undefined',
        '! someObject.secondProp',
        '!! someObject.secondProp',

        'typeof someObject.undefinedProp == "undefined"',
        'typeof someObject.undefinedProp === typeof undefined',
        'someObject.undefinedProp === undefined',
        '! someObject.undefinedProp',
        '!! someObject.undefinedProp',

        'typeof notDefined == "undefined"',
        'typeof notDefined === typeof undefined',
        'notDefined === undefined',
        '! notDefined',
        '!! notDefined'
    ];

    var output = document.getElementById('results');
    var result = '';
    for(var t in tests) {
        if( !tests.hasOwnProperty(t) ) continue; // bleh

        try {
            result = eval(tests[t]);
        } catch(ex) {
            result = 'Exception--' + ex;
        }
        console.log(tests[t], result);
        output.innerHTML += "\n" + tests[t] + ": " + result;
    }
})();

And results:

definedButNotInitialized in window: true
definedAndInitialized in window: false
someObject.firstProp in window: false
someObject.secondProp in window: false
someObject.undefinedProp in window: true
notDefined in window: Exception--ReferenceError: notDefined is not defined
"definedButNotInitialized" in window: false
"definedAndInitialized" in window: true
"someObject.firstProp" in window: false
"someObject.secondProp" in window: false
"someObject.undefinedProp" in window: false
"notDefined" in window: false
typeof definedButNotInitialized == "undefined": true
typeof definedButNotInitialized === typeof undefined: true
definedButNotInitialized === undefined: true
! definedButNotInitialized: true
!! definedButNotInitialized: false
typeof definedAndInitialized == "undefined": false
typeof definedAndInitialized === typeof undefined: false
definedAndInitialized === undefined: false
! definedAndInitialized: false
!! definedAndInitialized: true
typeof someObject.firstProp == "undefined": false
typeof someObject.firstProp === typeof undefined: false
someObject.firstProp === undefined: false
! someObject.firstProp: false
!! someObject.firstProp: true
typeof someObject.secondProp == "undefined": false
typeof someObject.secondProp === typeof undefined: false
someObject.secondProp === undefined: false
! someObject.secondProp: true
!! someObject.secondProp: false
typeof someObject.undefinedProp == "undefined": true
typeof someObject.undefinedProp === typeof undefined: true
someObject.undefinedProp === undefined: true
! someObject.undefinedProp: true
!! someObject.undefinedProp: false
typeof notDefined == "undefined": true
typeof notDefined === typeof undefined: true
notDefined === undefined: Exception--ReferenceError: notDefined is not defined
! notDefined: Exception--ReferenceError: notDefined is not defined
!! notDefined: Exception--ReferenceError: notDefined is not defined

if you do:

if(myvar == undefined )
 { alert('var does not exists or is not initialized'); }

It will fail when the var myvar does not exists because myvar is not defined, so the script is broken and the test has no effect.

Because the window object has a global scope (default object) outside a function, a declaration will be 'attached' to the window object.

for example:

var myvar = 'test';

the global var myvar is the same as window.myvar or window['myvar']

To avoid errors to test when a global variable exists, you better use:

if(window.myvar == undefined )
 { alert('var does not exists or is not initialized'); }

The question if a var really exists doesn't matter, it's value is incorrect. Otherwise, it is silly to initialize variables with undefined, better use the value false to initialize. When you know that all variables that you declare are initialized with false, you can simply check it's type or rely on !window.myvar to check if it has a proper/valid value. So even when the variable is not defined then !window.myvar is the same for myvar=undefined or myvar=false or myvar=0.

When you expect a specific type, test the type of the variable. To speed up testing a condition you better do:

if( !window.myvar || typeof window.myvar != 'string' )
 { alert('var does not exists or is not type of string'); }

When the first and simple condition is true, the interpreter skips next tests.

It is always better to use the instance/object of the variable to check if it got a valid value. It is more stable, a better way of programming.

Cheers!

Kind regards, Erwin Haantjes

function isUnset(inp) {
  return (typeof inp === 'undefined')
}

Returns false if variable is set, and true if is undefined.

Then use:

if (isUnset(var)) {
  // initialize variable here
}

I didn't see (hope I didn't miss it) anyone checking the object before the property. So, this is the shortest and most effective (though not necessarily the most clear):

if (obj && obj.prop) {
  // Do something;
}

If the obj or obj.prop is undefined, null, or "falsy", the if statement will not execute the code block. This is usually the desired behavior in most code block statements (in JavaScript).

The solution is incorrect. In javascript,

null == undefined

will return true because they both are "casted" to a boolean and are false. The correct way would be to check

if (something === undefined)

which is the identity operator...

You can get array all undefined with path using following code.

 function getAllUndefined(object) {

        function convertPath(arr, key) {
            var path = "";
            for (var i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {

                path += arr[i] + "->";
            }
            path += key;
            return path;
        }


        var stack = [];
        var saveUndefined= [];
        function getUndefiend(obj, key) {

            var t = typeof obj;
            switch (t) {
                case "object":
                    if (t === null) {
                        return false;
                    }
                    break;
                case "string":
                case "number":
                case "boolean":
                case "null":
                    return false;
                default:
                    return true;
            }
            stack.push(key);
            for (k in obj) {
                if (obj.hasOwnProperty(k)) {
                    v = getUndefiend(obj[k], k);
                    if (v) {
                        saveUndefined.push(convertPath(stack, k));
                    }
                }
            }
            stack.pop();

        }

        getUndefiend({
            "": object
        }, "");
        return saveUndefined;     
    }

jsFiddle link

In this article I read that frameworks like Underscore use this function:

function isUndefined(obj){
    return obj === void 0;
}

if (window.x) { } is error safe

Most likely you want "if (window.x)". This check is safe even if x hasn't been declared (var x;) - browser doesn't throw an error.

Example: I want to know if my browser supports History API

if (window.history) {
   history.call_some_function();
}

How this works:

window is an object which holds all global variables as its members and it is legal to try to access a non-existing member. If x hasn't been declared or hasn't been set then window.x returns undefined. undefined leads to false when if() evaluates it.

Here is my situation:

I am using the result of a REST call. The result should be parsed from JSON to a JavaScript object.

There is one error I need to defend. If the args to the rest call were incorrect as far as the user specifying the args wrong, the rest call comes back basically empty.

While using this post to help me defend against this, I tried this.

if( typeof restResult.data[0] === "undefined" ) { throw  "Some error"; }

For my situation, if restResult.data[0] === "object", then I can safely start inspecting the rest of the members. If undefined then throw the error as above.

What I am saying is that for my situation, all the suggestions above in this post did not work. I'm not saying I'm right and everyone is wrong. I am not a JavaScript master at all, but hopefully this will help someone.

Compare with void 0, for terseness.

if (foo !== void 0)

It's not as verbose as if (typeof foo !== 'undefined')

"propertyName" in obj //-> true | false

Also same things can be written shorter:

if (!variable){
    //do it if variable is Undefined
}

or

if (variable){
    //do it if variable is Defined
}

All the answers are incomplete. This is the right way of knowing that there is a property 'defined as undefined' :

var hasUndefinedProperty = function hasUndefinedProperty(obj, prop){
  return ((prop in obj) && (typeof obj[prop] == 'undefined')) ;
} ;

Example:

var a = { b : 1, e : null } ;
a.c = a.d ;

hasUndefinedProperty(a, 'b') ; // false : b is defined as 1
hasUndefinedProperty(a, 'c') ; // true : c is defined as undefined
hasUndefinedProperty(a, 'd') ; // false : d is undefined
hasUndefinedProperty(a, 'e') ; // false : e is defined as null

// And now...
delete a.c ;
hasUndefinedProperty(a, 'c') ; // false : c is undefined

Too bad that this been the right answer is buried in wrong answers >_<

So, for anyone who pass by, I will give you undefineds for free!!

var undefined ; undefined ; // undefined
({}).a ;                    // undefined
[].a ;                      // undefined
''.a ;                      // undefined
(function(){}()) ;          // undefined
void(0) ;                   // undefined
eval() ;                    // undefined
1..a ;                      // undefined
/a/.a ;                     // undefined
(true).a ;                  // undefined

Object.hasOwnProperty(o, 'propertyname');

This doesn't look up through the prototype chain, however.