[javascript] JavaScript isset() equivalent

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.