Question

I am using this kind of code in JavaScript.

if(typeof a[x] != "undefined" && typeof a[x][y] != "undefined" && typeof a[x][y][z] != "undefined") {
    a[x][y][z].update();
}
// else do nothing

I just thought that using try catch to implement the above logic would simplify the code and reduce the checking of three conditions each time. (See below)

try {
    a[x][y][z].update();
} catch(e) {
}

Is it good to use try catch in such a situation?

Note: If you are wondering why I am checking the three conditions: a[][][] contains references to objects and the references are added dynamically.

Answer 1

Readability matters more, unless you’re in an extremely performance optimized loop or function, it shouldn’t make a difference.

As PleaseStand stated, wrapping the whole thing in a try/catch will hide any errors. You could alternatively do something like this, if you still wanted to try/catch

var fn = null;

try {
    fn = a[x][y][z].update;
} catch (e) {
    fn = function(){}
}

fn();

or

var fn = null;

try {
    fn = a[x][y][z].update;
} catch (e) {}

fn && fn();