Protect better against createElement(null/undefined)

src/classic/element/ReactElement.js

@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ ReactElement.createElement = function(type, config, children) {
   }
 
   // Resolve default props
-  if (type.defaultProps) {
+  if (type && type.defaultProps) {
     var defaultProps = type.defaultProps;
     for (propName in defaultProps) {
       if (typeof props[propName] === 'undefined') {

src/classic/element/ReactElementValidator.js

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ var ReactCurrentOwner = require('ReactCurrentOwner');
 
 var getIteratorFn = require('getIteratorFn');
 var monitorCodeUse = require('monitorCodeUse');
+var warning = require('warning');
 
 /**
  * Warn if there's no key explicitly set on dynamic arrays of children or
@@ -239,6 +240,15 @@ function checkPropTypes(componentName, propTypes, props, location) {
 var ReactElementValidator = {
 
   createElement: function(type, props, children) {
+    // We warn in this case but don't throw. We expect the element creation to
+    // succeed and there will likely be errors in render.
+    warning(
+      type != null,
+      'React.createElement: type should not be null or undefined. It should ' +
+        'be a string (for DOM elements) or a ReactClass (for composite ' +
+        'components).'
+    );
+
     var element = ReactElement.createElement.apply(this, arguments);
 
     // The result can be nullish if a mock or a custom function is used.
@@ -251,22 +261,24 @@ var ReactElementValidator = {
       validateChildKeys(arguments[i], type);
     }
 
-    var name = type.displayName;
-    if (type.propTypes) {
-      checkPropTypes(
-        name,
-        type.propTypes,
-        element.props,
-        ReactPropTypeLocations.prop
-      );
-    }
-    if (type.contextTypes) {
-      checkPropTypes(
-        name,
-        type.contextTypes,
-        element._context,
-        ReactPropTypeLocations.context
-      );
+    if (type) {
+      var name = type.displayName;
+      if (type.propTypes) {
+        checkPropTypes(
+          name,
+          type.propTypes,
+          element.props,
+          ReactPropTypeLocations.prop
+        );
+      }
+      if (type.contextTypes) {
+        checkPropTypes(
+          name,
+          type.contextTypes,
+          element._context,
+          ReactPropTypeLocations.context
+        );
+      }
     }
     return element;
   },

src/classic/element/__tests__/ReactElementValidator-test.js

@@ -55,6 +55,28 @@ describe('ReactElementValidator', function() {
     );
   });
 
+  it('gives a helpful error when passing null or undefined', function() {
+    spyOn(console, 'warn');
+    React.createElement(undefined);
+    React.createElement(null);
+    expect(console.warn.calls.length).toBe(2);
+    expect(console.warn.calls[0].args[0]).toBe(
+      'Warning: React.createElement: type should not be null or undefined. ' +
+      'It should be a string (for DOM elements) or a ReactClass (for ' +
+      'composite components).'
+    );
+    expect(console.warn.calls[1].args[0]).toBe(
+      'Warning: React.createElement: type should not be null or undefined. ' +
+      'It should be a string (for DOM elements) or a ReactClass (for ' +
+      'composite components).'
+    );
+    React.createElement('div');
+    expect(console.warn.calls.length).toBe(2);
+
+    expect(() => React.createElement(undefined)).not.toThrow()
+  });
+
+
   it('should check default prop values', function() {
     spyOn(console, 'warn');