typeof vs instanceof in JavaScript: Understanding Type Checking
Introduction If you’ve spent any time debugging JavaScript, you’ve probably run into type errors. You know the ones, where you try to call a method on something that turns out to be undefined or try to loop through something that isn’t actually an array. Been there, done that! JavaScript gives us two main ways to check what we’re dealing with: typeof and instanceof. They might look like they do the same thing, but trust me, mixing them up can lead to some head-scratching bugs. Let’s break down how these two operators work and when you should reach for each one. ...