Check if an array item is set in JS

Use the in keyword to test if a attribute is defined in a object

if (assoc_var in assoc_pagine)

OR

if ("home" in assoc_pagine)

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There are quite a few issues here.

Firstly, is var supposed to a variable has the value "home", "work" or "about"? Or did you mean to inspect actual property called "var"?

If var is supposed to be a variable that has a string value, please note that var is a reserved word in JavaScript and you will need to use another name, such as assoc_var.

var assoc_var = "home";
assoc_pagine[assoc_var] // equals 0 in your example

If you meant to inspect the property called "var", then you simple need to put it inside of quotes.

assoc_pagine["var"]

Then, undefined is not the same as "undefined". You will need typeof to get the string representation of the objects type.

This is a breakdown of all the steps.

var assoc_var = "home"; 
var value = assoc_pagine[assoc_var]; // 0
var typeofValue = typeof value; // "number"

So to fix your problem

if (typeof assoc_pagine[assoc_var] != "undefined") 

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update: As other answers have indicated, using a array is not the best sollution for this problem. Consider using a Object instead.

var assoc_pagine = new Object();
assoc_pagine["home"]=0;
assoc_pagine["about"]=1;
assoc_pagine["work"]=2;

var assoc_pagine = new Array();
assoc_pagine["home"]=0;

Don't use an Array for this. Arrays are for numerically-indexed lists. Just use a plain Object ({}).

What you are thinking of with the 'undefined' string is probably this:

if (typeof assoc_pagine[key]!=='undefined')

This is (more or less) the same as saying

if (assoc_pagine[key]!==undefined)

However, either way this is a bit ugly. You're dereferencing a key that may not exist (which would be an error in any more sensible language), and relying on JavaScript's weird hack of giving you the special undefined value for non-existent properties.

This also doesn't quite tell you if the property really wasn't there, or if it was there but explicitly set to the undefined value.

This is a more explicit, readable and IMO all-round better approach:

if (key in assoc_pagine)