There are 3 ways to check for "not null". My recommendation is to use the Strict Not Version.

1. Strict Not Version

if (val !== null) { ... }

The Strict Not Version uses the Strict Equality Comparison Algorithm. The !== operator has faster performance than the != operator, because the Strict Equality Comparison Algorithm doesn't typecast values.

2. Non-strict Not Version

if (val != null) { ... }

The Non-strict Not Version uses the Abstract Equality Comparison Algorithm. The != operator has slower performance than the !== operator, because the Abstract Equality Comparison Algorithm typecasts values.

3. Double Not Version

if (!!val) { ... }

The Double Not Version has faster performance than both the Strict Not Version and the Non-Strict Not Version. However, the !! operator will typecast "falsey" values like 0, '', undefined and NaN into false, which may lead to unexpected results, and it has worse readability because null isn't explicitly stated.

Here is how you can test if a variable is not NULL:

if (myVar !== null) {...}

the block will be executed if myVar is not null.. it will be executed if myVar is undefined or false or 0 or NaN or anything else..

To check for null SPECIFICALLY you would use this:

if (variable === null)

This test will ONLY pass for null and will not pass for "", undefined, false, 0, or NaN.

Additionally, I've provided absolute checks for each "false-like" value (one that would return true for !variable).

Note, for some of the absolute checks, you will need to implement use of the absolutely equals: === and typeof.

I've created a JSFiddle here to show all of the individual tests working

Here is the output of each check:

Null Test:

if (variable === null)

- variable = ""; (false) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (true) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (false) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (false) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (false) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (false) typeof variable = number



Empty String Test:

if (variable === '')

- variable = ''; (true) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (false) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (false) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (false) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (false) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (false) typeof variable = number




Undefined Test:

if (typeof variable == "undefined")

-- or --

if (variable === undefined)

- variable = ''; (false) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (false) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (true) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (false) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (false) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (false) typeof variable = number



False Test:

if (variable === false)

- variable = ''; (false) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (false) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (false) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (true) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (false) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (false) typeof variable = number



Zero Test:

if (variable === 0)

- variable = ''; (false) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (false) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (false) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (false) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (true) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (false) typeof variable = number



NaN Test:

if (typeof variable == 'number' && !parseFloat(variable) && variable !== 0)

-- or --

if (isNaN(variable))

- variable = ''; (false) typeof variable = string

- variable = null; (false) typeof variable = object

- variable = undefined; (false) typeof variable = undefined

- variable = false; (false) typeof variable = boolean

- variable = 0; (false) typeof variable = number

- variable = NaN; (true) typeof variable = number

As you can see, it's a little more difficult to test against NaN;

This question has two interpretations:

Check if the variable has a value
Check if the variable has a truthy value

The following answers both.

In JavaScript, a value could be nullish or not nullish, and a value could be falsy or truthy.
Nullish values are a proper subset of falsy values:

 ╭─ nullish ──────╮ ╭─ not nullish ─────────────────────────────────╮
┌───────────┬──────┬───────┬───┬────┬─────┬──────┬───┬─────────┬─────┐
│ undefined │ null │ false │ 0 │ "" │ ... │ true │ 1 │ "hello" │ ... │
└───────────┴──────┴───────┴───┴────┴─────┴──────┴───┴─────────┴─────┘
 ╰─ falsy ───────────────────────────────╯ ╰─ truthy ───────────────╯

Check if value is nullish (undefined or null)

Use one of the following depending on your coding style:

if (value == null)                         { /* value is nullish */ }
if (value === undefined || value === null) { /* value is nullish */ }
if (value == undefined)                    { /* value is nullish */ }
if ((value ?? null) === null)              { /* value is nullish */ }

Notes:

• The == operator works because it has a special case for null vs undefined comparison
• The === operator is more readable (opinion based), eqeqeq friendly and allows checking for undefined and null separately
• The first and third examples work identically, however the third one is rarely seen in production code
• The fourth example uses nullish coalescing operator to change nullish values to null for straight forward comparison

Check if value is not nullish

if (value != null)                         { /* value is not nullish, although it could be falsy */ }
if (value !== undefined && value !== null) { /* value is not nullish, although it could be falsy */ }
if (value != undefined)                    { /* value is not nullish, although it could be falsy */ }
if ((value ?? null) !== null)              { /* value is not nullish, although it could be falsy */ }

Check if value is falsy

Use the ! operator:

if (!value) { /* value is falsy */ }

Check if value is truthy

if (value) { /* value is truthy */ }

Data validation

The nullish, falsy and truthy checks cannot be used for data validation on their own. For example, 0 (falsy) is valid age of a person and -1 (truthy) is not. Additional logic needs to be added on case-by-case basis. Some examples:

/*
 * check if value is greater than/equal to 0
 * note that we cannot use truthy check here because 0 must be allowed
 */
[null, -1, 0, 1].forEach(num => {
  if (num != null && num >= 0) {
    console.log("%o is not nullish and greater than/equal to 0", num);
  } else {
    console.log("%o is bad", num);
  }
});

/*
 * check if value is not empty-or-whitespace string
 */
[null, "", " ", "hello"].forEach(str => {
  if (str && /\S/.test(str)) {
    console.log("%o is truthy and has non-whitespace characters", str);
  } else {
    console.log("%o is bad", str);
  }
});

/*
 * check if value is not an empty array
 * check for truthy before checking the length property
 */
[null, [], [1]].forEach(arr => {
  if (arr && arr.length) {
    console.log("%o is truthy and has one or more items", arr);
  } else {
    console.log("%o is bad", arr);
  }
});

/*
 * check if value is not an empty array
 * using optional chaining operator to make sure that the value is not nullish
 */
[null, [], [1]].forEach(arr => {
  if (arr?.length) {
    console.log("%o is not nullish and has one or more items", arr);
  } else {
    console.log("%o is bad", arr);
  }
});