What are the differences between an optional property and a non-optional property?

Let's say I am working on creating an array of type CoolObject. What would be the better approach if some objects have the property format, while others do not?

// Option 1
   export interface CoolObject {
     name: string;
     color: string;
     format? string;
    }

or

// Option 2
    export interface CoolObject {
     name: string;
     color: string;
     format: string;
    }

With the second option, I can easily check whether the format property has a value or not.

Answer №1

The alternate approach informs the compiler that the property will always exist, making it a poor choice for indicating optionality. To convey that a property is optional, one should use the '?' symbol:

export interface CoolObject {
 name: string;
 color: string;
 format? string;
}

If you enable strictNullChecks in TypeScript, the compiler will require you to verify that the property is defined before accessing it.

Answer №2

When the property format is not included in every object, you can implement the following solution:

export interface CoolObject {
  name    : string;
  color   : string;
  format ?: string;
}

Answer №3

Just like our colleagues mentioned,

export interface CoolObject {
  name    : string;
  color   : string;
  format ?: string;
}

is the way to go that makes the most sense.

If it's a highly demanding application in terms of performance, I would take it a step further with

export interface CoolObject {
      name    : string;
      color   : string;
      format  : string;
    }

and assign format = undefined if it's not utilized.

The reason being, the Javascript Compiler optimizes for "equal structured Objects." For example, the objects:

{ 
  name: 'LALALA'
  color: 'blue'
}

{ 
  name: 'James Blond'
  color: 'rose'
}

are structurally equal.

{ 
  name: 'LALALA'
  color: 'blue'
}

{ 
  name: 'James Blond'
  color: 'rose'
  format: 'lowlevel'
}

are not.

However, we are discussing optimizations that are necessary for very few specific Use Cases. That's why I recommend sticking with format ?: string, as it is much easier to implement and understand.

Best regards

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