All topics

Checking type of input best practice

Tom Ireland

2 months ago
Hey, community and toddle-hero's. I discovered an issue in my workflow earlier where I was checking if an array was empty to then set a variable value. The problem was that this kept returning the variable value as undefined. After some time and head scratching, I found out that the array I was trying to check was actually an object. 🤦‍♂️

The array check I'm doing is actually a formula that accepts an input, which means I can use this formula to check if any array I pass in is empty or not and then apply some additional logic.

Now, I know I can use Type of to check what the input type is but I'm trying to figure out where this best belongs. Should I be checking this within the formula itself for what is passed in as the argument or should I be checking this when using the formula? The logic is that I can have some kind of internal error checking to ensure that I'm setting everything correctly.

Video explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAcCbPrYi-o

See image for output based on my formula, which I think works well and will prevent me adding the wrong input type.
Tom Ireland

2 months ago
I guess in this case, checking if an array is empty using a formula could be considered as extra work? I could just check the size and type when setting the variable, which is what I'm doing with the formula. All the formula is doing is checking stuff in a concise way that will always return a consistent output. But is it actually needed? 🤔
@Tom Ireland
I guess in this case, checking if an array is empty using a formula could be considered as extra work? I could just check the size and type when setting the variable, which is what I'm doing with the formula. All the formula is doing is checking stuff in a concise way that will always return a consistent output. But is it actually needed? 🤔
Tom Ireland

2 months ago
Answered my own question. I'd have to apply the same logic as in the formula to get the output I want, so it does actually save time. Otherwise, I'd have to apply the same logic every time, which is repetitive and laborious. Also, if I forget to check the type and just get the size, I will actually get a result of whatever input I'm passing to size, which could yield results I don't want. So, moral of the story: formula is good, type check in formula is good and results are consistent.

Open to feedback on that.

Checking type of input best practice

Tom Ireland

Tom Ireland

Tom Ireland

Stop scrolling. Start building.

Chat with @team-toddle

Video call our CEO

Get in touch!

Product

Company

Resources

Community