What is Undefined in JavaScript?
In JavaScript, undefined
is a primitive value that represents the absence of a value. It is one of the six primitive values in JavaScript, along with null
, boolean
, number
, string
, and symbol
.
When is Undefined Used?
undefined
is used in the following scenarios:
- When a variable is declared but not assigned a value.
- When a function parameter is not passed an argument.
- When a property of an object is not set.
- When a method returns no value.
Checking for Undefined
You can check if a value is undefined
using the typeof
operator. The typeof
operator returns the type of a value, and it will return "undefined"
for undefined
values.
For example:
let myVariable;
console.log(typeof myVariable); // Logs "undefined"
Comparison with Null
undefined
is often confused with null
, but they are not the same thing. null
is a special value that represents the intentional absence of a value, while undefined
represents the absence of a value due to the lack of assignment.
For example:
let myNullVariable = null;
let myUndefinedVariable;
console.log(myNullVariable === myUndefinedVariable); // Logs false
Conclusion
undefined
is a primitive value in JavaScript that represents the absence of a value. It is used in a variety of scenarios, and it is important to understand how it works in order to write effective JavaScript code.