Type evaluation and comparison with Wtf.js

• Side steps JavaScript's inconsistent typeof and instanceof operators
• Dependency free, and ultra lightweight at 0.3kb (minified)

JavaScript's native typeof operator can be awkward, it's one of the language's warts. Take for example typeof null, which one would expect to return "Null", but is actually "Object"! Unfortunately instanceof is even less helpful than typeof.

This can lead to unnecessarily complex (and buggy) comparison statements. Enter Wtf.js to the rescue...

Using Wtf.js type evaluation and predicates

Predefined default types will return true / false indicating if the (optional) argument passed was of that type -- if no argument is passed, the type string for that type is returned instead:

• Wtf.ARRAY([thing])
• Wtf.FUNCTION([thing])
• Wtf.NULL([thing])
• Wtf.NUMBER([thing])
• Wtf.OBJECT([thing])
• Wtf.STRING([thing])
• Wtf.UNDEFINED([thing])

Therefore, you can use these functions either as predicates or constants.

Test for an array type:

if (Wtf.ARRAY(x)) {
  // etc.
}

Display the type of an unknown object for debugging: console.log(Wtf.type(thing))

Handling a function argument which may be one of a variety of known types:

switch (Wtf.type(thing)) {
    case Wtf.STRING() : // Handle string case
        break;
    case Wtf.NUMBER() : // Handle number case
        break;
    case Wtf.ARRAY() : // Handle array case
        break;
    // etc.
}

Since custom objects / classes will evaluate as a Wtf.OBJECT(), the use of instanceof to narrow down the object's sub-type base on constructor as a second step.

if (Wtf.OBJECT(x)) {
  if (x instanceof FancyClass) doFancyThings();
  // etc.
}

On not using Wtf.js

Common libraries such as: jQuery, Underscore or Lodash, etc. include type helper functions that accomplish the same thing -- use those instead.

NOTE: Wtf.js is a reinvention of a very small wheel for a size optimized -- and, therefore, dependency-free -- JavaScript project. If that's your use case, then enjoy!