isNull is misleading

[trodrigues]

I was updating a codebase that was using an older version of this library, and started getting these errors on code that was using isNull:

This library (validator.js) validates strings only in...

I then looked at the implementation which simply asserts if the input is a string and then checks the length.

Ideally I think this method should be renamed entirely (to something like isLengthZero) or change the implementation to actually check for null.

I also found this old issue which states the input is coerced before it gets there, but that doesn't seem to be the case. With that in mind, would it make sense for now to submit a PR to actually call toString before?

[ItsMrAkhil]

I am facing the same error. It is not working if the argument is other than string.

[chriso]

String coercion was removed from the library and it now validates and sanitizes strings only. Passing any other type of input is an error; it's up to the user to make sure the input is a string. As to why it no longer coerces input, have a look at #486 or a57f3c8; there are too many edge cases that are outside the scope of this library.

I agree that the isNull name is confusing. The name is leftover from earlier versions of the library. I've made a note on this wiki page about changing the name as part of the v6 major bump.

[ryannealmes]

Have you guys removed the functionality for isNull completely from this library?

e.g. validator.isEmpty(null) throws an exception now, so if I wanted to validate if something is empty I would have to do validator.isEmpty(test || "") if I wanted to cater for nulls as well. Is this intentional or am I missing something?

Thanks.

[melroy89]

I still think isNull is now missing. How to validate isNull. I want to check (using express-validator) your isInt() in combination with isNull() (isNull doesn't exists yet).