Cannot read property 'toJS' of undefined - reactjs

Question

I have two arrays. But when one of them is null it gives the following error:
Cannot read property 'toJS' of undefined in that line
Here's the relevant call that triggers the error: {groupsGuney.toJS()}
Here's my declaration of the variables let groupsGuney, groupsKuzey;
And finally here are my two arrays. But when one of them is null it gives the error:
...
if (muso == 1) {
groupsGuney = this.props.groups
.groupBy((group, idx) => idx % maxRows)
.map((ggs, idx) => {
return this.renderGroups(ggs, idx);
}).toList().flatten(true);
}
if (muso == 2) {
groupsKuzey = this.props.groups
.groupBy((group, idx) => idx % maxRows)
.map((ggs, idx) => {
return this.renderGroups(ggs, idx);
}).toList().flatten(true);
}
var result = (
<div>
<div className={classSelector + ' discard-mini-box-area'} >
{ groupsGuney.toJS() }
</div>
<div className={classSelector + ' discard-mini-box-area'} >
{ groupsKuzey.toJS() }
</div>
</div>
);
return result;
}
}
export default DiscardMiniBoxArea;

Answer 1

Instead of doing:
<div>
<div className={classSelector + ' discard-mini-box-area'} >
{groupsGuney.toJS()}
</div>
....
you should do:
<div>
<div className={classSelector + ' discard-mini-box-area'} >
{groupsGuney && groupsGuney.toJS()}
</div>
....
Before calling a function on your object, you need to make sure it's there. If you're uncertain about your object having the function at all times, you will need an additional check, that makes sure toJS is there and that it's a valid function.
If that's the case, update what's inside your container to:
{groupsGuney && typeof groupsGuney.toJS === 'function' && groupsGuney.toJS()}
However, ideally, you would not render at all this specific group if what you would like to render is not there. You should move these checks to before you render your component.

Answer 2

My motivation here is mostly that my call .get of undefined poops itself really hard, and initializing properly all over the place helps, but doesn't catch all edge cases. I just want the data or undefined without any breakage. Specific type checking causes me to do more work later if I want it to make changes.
This looser version solves many more edge cases(most if not all extend type Iterable which has .get, and all data is eventually gotten) than a specific type check does(which usually only saves you when you try to update on the wrong type etc).
/* getValid: Checks for valid ImmutableJS type Iterable
returns valid Iterable, valid Iterable child data, or undefined
Iterable.isIterable(maybeIterable) && maybeIterable.get(['data', key], Map()), becomes
getValid(maybeIterable, ['data', key], Map())
But wait! There's more! As a result:
getValid(maybeIterable) returns the maybeIterable or undefined
and we can still say getValid(maybeIterable, null, Map()) returns the maybeIterable or Map() */
export const getValid = (maybeIterable, path, getInstead) =>
Iterable.isIterable(maybeIterable) && path
? ((typeof path === 'object' && maybeIterable.getIn(path, getInstead)) || maybeIterable.get(path, getInstead))
: Iterable.isIterable(maybeIterable) && maybeIterable || getInstead;
//Here is an untested version that a friend requested. It is slightly easier to grok.
export const getValid = (maybeIterable, path, getInstead) => {
if(valid(maybeIterable)) { // Check if it is valid
if(path) { // Check if it has a key
if(typeof path === 'object') { // Check if it is an 'array'
return maybeIterable.getIn(path, getInstead) // Get your stuff
} else {
maybeIterable.get(path, getInstead) // Get your stuff
}
} else {
return maybeIterable || getInstead; // No key? just return the valid Iterable
}
} else {
return undefined; // Not valid, return undefined, perhaps should return false here
}
}
Just give me what I am asking for or tell me no. Don't explode. I believe underscore does something similar also.