What is the process for defining a generic function to convert to an array in TypeScript?

Here is a versatile function that wraps any value into an array:

const ensureArray = <T,>(value?: T | T[]): T[] => {
  if (Array.isArray(value)) return value
  if (value === undefined) return []
  return [value]
}

const undef = undefined
ensureArray(undef) // result type undefined[]

const str = 'string'
ensureArray(str)  // result type string[]

const strArray = ['string']
ensureArray(strArray)  // result type string[]

interface Interface {
  [key: string]: string | string[] | number | number[]
}
const p:Interface ={a:'x'}
ensureArray(p.a)  
// types as const ensureArray: <string | number>(value?: string | number | (string | number)[] | undefined) => (string | number)[]

Is there a way to make TypeScript deduce the function type as

(value: string | number | string[] | number[] | undefined) => string[] | number[]

?

Try it out yourself: here

Answer №1

Incorporating an additional function overload with a conditional return type could enhance the existing functionality.

function ensureArray<T,>(value?: T | T[]): T extends any[] ? T : T[]
function ensureArray<T,>(value?: T | T[]): T[] {
  if (Array.isArray(value)) return value
  if (value === undefined) return []
  return [value]
}

The purpose of adding this overload is to determine whether T is categorized as an array type or not. If it is, the function will directly return it; otherwise, it will return T[]. By implementing this additional overload, TypeScript will no longer raise concerns regarding the existing return statements in the actual implementation.


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