Typescript: It is possible that the object is 'undefined' only for the '<' and '>' operators

I've been encountering a very peculiar issue with the error message Object is possibly 'undefined'. My objective is to create a condition similar to this:

if (productPages?.length && productPages[productPages.length - 1].docs?.length < 10){...}

However, the condition

productPages[productPages.length - 1].docs?.length < 10
is causing the error Object is possibly 'undefined'.

Interestingly, when I replace the < operator with == or ===, the error disappears, which strikes me as quite unusual.

I am reluctant to use the ! - Non-null assertion operator, but currently, I cannot identify an alternative solution to resolve this issue.

Tested TypeScript versions: 3.7.3 and 4.0.5.

Answer №1

In the event that the optional chaining fails, the entire left side will result in undefined. In this scenario, your code will resemble:

if (undefined < 10)

This doesn't seem logical, leading TypeScript to throw an error.

Utilizing === is not problematic because it is legitimate to check if a value is === to undefined.

If it is guaranteed that the docs section exists, eliminate the optional chain from it: .docs.length. However, as uncertainty surrounds the existence of

productPages[productPages.length - 1]
, you must also include an optional chain for it. (Your ?. might be incorrectly placed.)

If uncertainty prevails regarding the presence of the docs section, determine the desired logic: should the code run when the nested array is absent, or only when it is present? Consider changing the structure to something similar to:

const length =  productPages[productPages.length - 1]?.docs?.length;
if (length !== undefined && length < 10) {
// or
// if (length === undefined || length < 10) {

Choose the approach based on the intended logic.

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