How can I check if a directory exists in a Bash shell script?

Question

What command can be used to check if a directory exists or not, within a Bash shell script?

Answer 1

This answer wrapped up as a shell script

Examples

$ is_dir ~                           
YES

$ is_dir /tmp                        
YES

$ is_dir ~/bin                       
YES

$ mkdir '/tmp/test me'

$ is_dir '/tmp/test me'
YES

$ is_dir /asdf/asdf                  
NO

# Example of calling it in another script
DIR=~/mydata
if [ $(is_dir $DIR) == "NO" ]
then
  echo "Folder doesnt exist: $DIR";
  exit;
fi

is_dir

function show_help()
{
  IT=$(CAT <