JavaScript check if variable exists (is defined/initialized)

Question

Which method of checking if a variable has been initialized is better/correct? (Assuming the variable could hold anything (string, int, object, function, etc.))

Answer 1

How to check if a variable exists

This is a pretty bulletproof solution for testing if a variable exists and has been initialized :

var setOrNot = typeof variable !== typeof undefined;

It is most commonly used in combination with a ternary operator to set a default in case a certain variable has not been initialized :

var dark = typeof darkColor !== typeof undefined ? darkColor : "black";

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Problems with encapsulation

Unfortunately, you cannot simply encapsulate your check in a function.

You might think of doing something like this :

function isset(variable) {
    return typeof variable !== typeof undefined;
}

However, this will produce a reference error if you're calling eg. isset(foo) and variable foo has not been defined, because you cannot pass along a non-existing variable to a function :

Uncaught ReferenceError: foo is not defined

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Testing whether function parameters are undefined

While our isset function cannot be used to test whether a variable exists or not (for reasons explained hereabove), it does allow us to test whether the parameters of a function 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.