isEmptyObject

Determines whether a value is an empty object with enhanced type safety. Performs dual validation to ensure the value is both an object and has no enumerable properties. Uses optimized iteration with early termination for performance. Note: This function has known edge cases with built-in objects for performance reasons.

Signature

const isEmptyObject: (value: unknown) => boolean

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
value	-	Value to test for empty object characteristics

Returns

Type-safe boolean indicating whether the value is an empty object

Examples

Empty object detection

import { isEmptyObject } from '@winglet/common-utils';

// True cases - empty objects
console.log(isEmptyObject({})); // true
console.log(isEmptyObject([])); // true (empty array is empty object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(Object.create(null))); // true
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Object())); // true

// Performance edge cases (return true but are not truly empty)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Date())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Error())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Map())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Set())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Promise(() => {}))); // true (performance optimization)

// False cases - not empty objects
console.log(isEmptyObject({ a: 1 })); // false (has properties)
console.log(isEmptyObject([1, 2, 3])); // false (has elements)
console.log(isEmptyObject('string')); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(42)); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(null)); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(undefined)); // false (not an object)

Object processing with empty check

function processObjectData(data: unknown) {
  if (isEmptyObject(data)) {
    console.log('Object is empty, using defaults');
    return { processed: true, hasData: false, defaults: true };
  }

  if (typeof data === 'object' && data !== null) {
    // Process non-empty object
    const keys = Object.keys(data);
    return {
      processed: true,
      hasData: true,
      keyCount: keys.length,
      keys
    };
  }

  throw new Error('Expected object data');
}

Configuration merging

function mergeConfig(defaultConfig: object, userConfig: unknown) {
  if (isEmptyObject(userConfig)) {
    console.log('No user config provided, using defaults');
    return { ...defaultConfig };
  }

  if (typeof userConfig === 'object' && userConfig !== null) {
    return { ...defaultConfig, ...userConfig };
  }

  console.warn('Invalid user config, using defaults');
  return { ...defaultConfig };
}

Form validation

interface FormErrors {
  [field: string]: string;
}

function validateForm(formData: Record<string, any>): FormErrors {
  const errors: FormErrors = {};

  // Validation logic
  if (!formData.name) errors.name = 'Name is required';
  if (!formData.email) errors.email = 'Email is required';

  return errors;
}

function handleFormSubmit(formData: Record<string, any>) {
  const errors = validateForm(formData);

  if (isEmptyObject(errors)) {
    console.log('Form is valid, submitting...');
    return submitForm(formData);
  }

  console.log('Form has errors:', errors);
  return { success: false, errors };
}

Safe object operations

function safeObjectOperation(obj: unknown, operation: 'keys' | 'values' | 'entries') {
  if (isEmptyObject(obj)) {
    // Return empty results for empty objects
    switch (operation) {
      case 'keys': return [];
      case 'values': return [];
      case 'entries': return [];
    }
  }

  if (typeof obj === 'object' && obj !== null) {
    switch (operation) {
      case 'keys': return Object.keys(obj);
      case 'values': return Object.values(obj);
      case 'entries': return Object.entries(obj);
    }
  }

  throw new Error('Expected object for operation');
}

Playground

import { isEmptyObject } from '@winglet/common-utils';

// True cases - empty objects
console.log(isEmptyObject({})); // true
console.log(isEmptyObject([])); // true (empty array is empty object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(Object.create(null))); // true
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Object())); // true

// Performance edge cases (return true but are not truly empty)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Date())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Error())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Map())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Set())); // true (performance optimization)
console.log(isEmptyObject(new Promise(() => {}))); // true (performance optimization)

// False cases - not empty objects
console.log(isEmptyObject({ a: 1 })); // false (has properties)
console.log(isEmptyObject([1, 2, 3])); // false (has elements)
console.log(isEmptyObject('string')); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(42)); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(null)); // false (not an object)
console.log(isEmptyObject(undefined)); // false (not an object)

Notes

Performance Optimization:

• Uses early termination: returns false on first enumerable property found
• Skips comprehensive built-in object checks for performance
• Known edge cases with Date, Error, Map, Set, Promise objects

Edge Cases (Performance Trade-offs):

• Built-in objects (Date, Error, Map, etc.) return true even though they have internal state
• This is intentional for performance reasons as noted in tests
• Use isEmptyPlainObject() for stricter validation if needed

Use Cases:

• Configuration object validation
• Form error checking
• API response validation
• Default value assignment
• Object merging utilities

Related Functions:

• Use isEmptyPlainObject() for stricter plain object checking
• Use isEmptyArray() for empty array detection
• Use Object.keys(obj).length === 0 for comprehensive checking

Performance: Optimized for common use cases with acceptable edge case trade-offs.