possible-function

Defines fallback behavior in case a variable is not a function. Perfect for optional callback parameters. Packaged as a Node.js module.

Installation

npm install possible-function --save

The module exposes a single factory function.

Usage

PossibleFunction wraps a value that may or may be a function. If the underlying value is not a function, then the PossibleFunction wrapper will execute one of the following fallback behaviors.

Passthrough Fallback

If the wrapped value turns out to not be a function, the wrapping function will, by default, pass through whatever is given as the first argument. This is useful for optional filters.

const PossibleFunction = require('possible-function')
 
function sayHello (name, filter) {
  filter = PossibleFunction(filter)
  return filter('Hello, ' + name)
}
 
// No filter is provided, so the hello message is returned without change:
sayHello('world') // 'Hello, world'
 
// A filter is provided which changes the hello message:
sayHello('world', m => m + '!!') // 'Hello, world!!'

Return-Value Fallback

If the wrapped value turns out to not be a function, the wrapping function can be configured to return a value of your choosing.

const PossibleFunction = require('possible-function')
 
function sayHello (nameCallback) {
  nameCallback = PossibleFunction(nameCallback, 'world')
  return 'Hello, ' + nameCallback()
}
 
sayHello() // 'Hello, world'
sayHello(() => 'Dolly') // 'Hello, Dolly'

Self Fallback

If you provide the possible function as its own fallback, then you can accept either a value or a function as an argument for your code. For example, the sayHello function in the following example can accept either a string or a function.

const PossibleFunction = require('possible-function')
 
function sayHello (nameCallback) {
  nameCallback = PossibleFunction(nameCallback, nameCallback)
  return 'Hello, ' + nameCallback()
}
 
sayHello('world') // 'Hello, world'
sayHello(() => 'world') // 'Hello, world'

Custom Fallback

If the wrapped value turns out to not be a function, the wrapping function can execute a custom fallback function instead:

const PossibleFunction = require('possible-function')
const mightBeAFunction = null
const callback = PossibleFunction(mightBeAFunction, (...args) => args.length)
callback('arg 1', 'arg 2') // 2