Check if an Object is Truthy in Dart
If you are coming from language like JavaScript you may be used to checking if an object is truthy.
if (true)
if ({})
if ([])
if (42)
if ("0")
if ("false")
if (new Date())
if (-42)
if (12n)
if (3.14)
if (-3.14)
if (Infinity)
if (-Infinity)
In Dart you need to explicitly check if an object is not null, true/false or determine if the value is true based on the type.
It is possible however to use Dart extensions to add the truthy capability.
extension on Object? {
bool get isTruthy => truthy(this);
}
bool truthy(Object? val) {
if (val == null) return false;
if (val is bool) return val;
if (val is num && val == 0) return false;
if (val is String && (val == 'false' || val == '')) return false;
if (val is Iterable && val.isEmpty) return false;
if (val is Map && val.isEmpty) return false;
return true;
}
This will now make it possible for any object to be evaluated as a truthy value in if statements or value assignments.
Prints the following:
(null, false)
(, false)
(false, false)
(true, true)
(0, false)
(1, true)
(false, false)
(true, true)
([], false)
([1, 2, 3], true)
({}, false)
({1, 2, 3}, true)
({a: 1, b: 2}, true)