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Zoho Creator: isBlank and isNull: Before or After?

Zoho Creator: isBlank and isNull: Before or After?

Category: Zoho
Hits: 19240
What?
A really quick article to test when to use isNull and isBlank.

Why?
So I've noticed that looking at people's Zoho Deluge code, there will often be a check on a null before or after the variable:
copyraw 
if(v_Test.isBlank())
{
    ...
}
  1.  if(v_Test.isBlank()) 
  2.  { 
  3.      ... 
  4.  } 
VS
copyraw 
if(isBlank(v_Test))
{
    ...
}
  1.  if(isBlank(v_Test)) 
  2.  { 
  3.      ... 
  4.  } 
isBlank() can be used to check if the string only contains blanks or if a value is null...

How?
Consider the following test function:
copyraw 
void fn_Test()
{
	info "---------------------- Value of TEST is a BLANK String";
	v_Test = "";
	if(isBlank(v_Test))
	{
		info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test.isBlank())
	{
		info "isBlank Succeeding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE";
    }
	if(isNull(v_Test))
	{
		info "isNull Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test.isNull())
	{
		info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test == null)
	{
		info "Equals Null is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "Equals Null is FALSE";
	}
	info "---------------------- Value of TEST is NULL";
	v_Test = null;
	if(isBlank(v_Test))
	{
		info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	try
	{
		if(v_Test.isBlank())
		{
			info "Blank Succeeding is TRUE";
		}
	}
	catch (e)
	{
		info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE:  " + e;
	}	
	if(isNull(v_Test))
	{
		info "isNull Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test.isNull())
	{
		info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test == "")
	{
		info "Equals Blank is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "Equals Blank is FALSE";
	}
}
//
// yields
/*
---------------------- Value of TEST is a BLANK String
isBlank Preceding is TRUE
isBlank Succeeding is TRUE
isNull Preceding is TRUE
isNull Succeeding is TRUE
Equals Null is FALSE
---------------------- Value of TEST is NULL
isBlank Preceding is TRUE
isBlank Succeeding is FALSE: Error at line : 57, Value is empty and 'isBlank' function cannot be applied
isNull Preceding is TRUE
isNull Succeeding is TRUE
Equals Blank is FALSE
*/
  1.  void fn_Test() 
  2.  { 
  3.      info "---------------------- Value of TEST is a BLANK String"; 
  4.      v_Test = ""; 
  5.      if(isBlank(v_Test)) 
  6.      { 
  7.          info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE"; 
  8.      } 
  9.      else 
  10.      { 
  11.          info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE"; 
  12.      } 
  13.      if(v_Test.isBlank()) 
  14.      { 
  15.          info "isBlank Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  16.      } 
  17.      else 
  18.      { 
  19.          info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE"; 
  20.      } 
  21.      if(isNull(v_Test)) 
  22.      { 
  23.          info "isNull Preceding is TRUE"; 
  24.      } 
  25.      else 
  26.      { 
  27.          info "isNull Preceding is FALSE"; 
  28.      } 
  29.      if(v_Test.isNull()) 
  30.      { 
  31.          info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  32.      } 
  33.      else 
  34.      { 
  35.          info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE"; 
  36.      } 
  37.      if(v_Test == null) 
  38.      { 
  39.          info "Equals Null is TRUE"; 
  40.      } 
  41.      else 
  42.      { 
  43.          info "Equals Null is FALSE"; 
  44.      } 
  45.      info "---------------------- Value of TEST is NULL"; 
  46.      v_Test = null; 
  47.      if(isBlank(v_Test)) 
  48.      { 
  49.          info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE"; 
  50.      } 
  51.      else 
  52.      { 
  53.          info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE"; 
  54.      } 
  55.      try 
  56.      { 
  57.          if(v_Test.isBlank()) 
  58.          { 
  59.              info "Blank Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  60.          } 
  61.      } 
  62.      catch (e) 
  63.      { 
  64.          info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE:  " + e; 
  65.      } 
  66.      if(isNull(v_Test)) 
  67.      { 
  68.          info "isNull Preceding is TRUE"; 
  69.      } 
  70.      else 
  71.      { 
  72.          info "isNull Preceding is FALSE"; 
  73.      } 
  74.      if(v_Test.isNull()) 
  75.      { 
  76.          info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  77.      } 
  78.      else 
  79.      { 
  80.          info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE"; 
  81.      } 
  82.      if(v_Test == "") 
  83.      { 
  84.          info "Equals Blank is TRUE"; 
  85.      } 
  86.      else 
  87.      { 
  88.          info "Equals Blank is FALSE"; 
  89.      } 
  90.  } 
  91.  // 
  92.  // yields 
  93.  /* 
  94.  ---------------------- Value of TEST is a BLANK String 
  95.  isBlank Preceding is TRUE 
  96.  isBlank Succeeding is TRUE 
  97.  isNull Preceding is TRUE 
  98.  isNull Succeeding is TRUE 
  99.  Equals Null is FALSE 
  100.  ---------------------- Value of TEST is NULL 
  101.  isBlank Preceding is TRUE 
  102.  isBlank Succeeding is FALSE: Error at line : 57, Value is empty and 'isBlank' function cannot be applied 
  103.  isNull Preceding is TRUE 
  104.  isNull Succeeding is TRUE 
  105.  Equals Blank is FALSE 
  106.  */ 
I've tried this in both Zoho Creator and Zoho CRM with the same results. I don't code with the method appended at the end of the variable but in more complex method chaining, I can see myself accidentally doing this. It's more that I saw other code like this and when reverse engineering or debugging the code, it may be worthwhile having a definitive idea of what will happen.

The intended purpose of isBlank()
copyraw 
void fn_Test()
{
	info "---------------------- Value of TEST is a String with 2 blank spaces";
	v_Test = "  ";
	if(isBlank(v_Test))
	{
		info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test.isBlank())
	{
		info "isBlank Succeeding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE";
    }
	if(isNull(v_Test))
	{
		info "isNull Preceding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Preceding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test.isNull())
	{
		info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE";
    }
	if(v_Test == null)
	{
		info "Equals Null is TRUE";
	}
	else 
    {
		info "Equals Null is FALSE";
	}
}
//
// yields
/*
---------------------- Value of TEST is a String with 2 blank spaces
isBlank Preceding is TRUE
isBlank Succeeding is TRUE
isNull Preceding is FALSE
isNull Succeeding is FALSE
Equals Null is FALSE
*/
  1.  void fn_Test() 
  2.  { 
  3.      info "---------------------- Value of TEST is a String with 2 blank spaces"; 
  4.      v_Test = "  "; 
  5.      if(isBlank(v_Test)) 
  6.      { 
  7.          info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE"; 
  8.      } 
  9.      else 
  10.      { 
  11.          info "isBlank Preceding is FALSE"; 
  12.      } 
  13.      if(v_Test.isBlank()) 
  14.      { 
  15.          info "isBlank Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  16.      } 
  17.      else 
  18.      { 
  19.          info "isBlank Succeeding is FALSE"; 
  20.      } 
  21.      if(isNull(v_Test)) 
  22.      { 
  23.          info "isNull Preceding is TRUE"; 
  24.      } 
  25.      else 
  26.      { 
  27.          info "isNull Preceding is FALSE"; 
  28.      } 
  29.      if(v_Test.isNull()) 
  30.      { 
  31.          info "isNull Succeeding is TRUE"; 
  32.      } 
  33.      else 
  34.      { 
  35.          info "isNull Succeeding is FALSE"; 
  36.      } 
  37.      if(v_Test == null) 
  38.      { 
  39.          info "Equals Null is TRUE"; 
  40.      } 
  41.      else 
  42.      { 
  43.          info "Equals Null is FALSE"; 
  44.      } 
  45.  } 
  46.  // 
  47.  // yields 
  48.  /* 
  49.  ---------------------- Value of TEST is a String with 2 blank spaces 
  50.  isBlank Preceding is TRUE 
  51.  isBlank Succeeding is TRUE 
  52.  isNull Preceding is FALSE 
  53.  isNull Succeeding is FALSE 
  54.  Equals Null is FALSE 
  55.  */ 

Conclusion
The recommended best practice for checking if the variable is null, contains blanks, or is simply an empty string would be:
copyraw 
if(isBlank(v_Test))
{
	info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE";
}
  1.  if(isBlank(v_Test)) 
  2.  { 
  3.      info "isBlank Preceding is TRUE"; 
  4.  } 
If you're not expecting the user to enter any spaces at all and just want to check if the variable exists or is an empty string, then continue with:
copyraw 
if(isNull(v_Test))
{
	info "isNull Preceding is TRUE";
}
  1.  if(isNull(v_Test)) 
  2.  { 
  3.      info "isNull Preceding is TRUE"; 
  4.  } 

Additional Note(s):
  • I've noticed that if the accepted content on an invokeURL in ZohoCreator is not JSON, then isNull() preceeding will not work. Instead you will need to do something like the following:
    copyraw 
    m_Header = Map();
m_Header.put("Authorization","Bearer <my_token>");
m_Header.put("Accept","application/vnd.github+json");
m_Header.put("X-GitHub-Api-Version","10-02-2025");
//
// query this user's events
v_Endpoint_Events = "https://api.github.com/users/joel-the-awesomest/events";
r_Events = invokeurl
[
	url :v_Endpoint_Events
	type :GET
	headers:m_Header
];	
for each m_Event in r_Events
{
	if(m_Event.get("id") != null)
	{
		... do stuff
	}
}
    1.  m_Header = Map(); 
    2.  m_Header.put("Authorization","Bearer <my_token>"); 
    3.  m_Header.put("Accept","application/vnd.github+json"); 
    4.  m_Header.put("X-GitHub-Api-Version","10-02-2025"); 
    5.  // 
    6.  // query this user's events 
    7.  v_Endpoint_Events = "https://api.github.com/users/joel-the-awesomest/events"; 
    8.  r_Events = invokeUrl 
    9.  [ 
    10.      url :v_Endpoint_Events 
    11.      type :GET 
    12.      headers:m_Header 
    13.  ]; 
    14.  for each m_Event in r_Events 
    15.  { 
    16.      if(m_Event.get("id") != null) 
    17.      { 
    18.          ... do stuff 
    19.      } 
    20.  } 

Source(s):
Category: Zoho :: Article: 897

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