XPages: Helper function for inconsistent API methods - always get an array

Update: I added functionality to convert collections (ArrayList/Vector/etc.) to arrays as well.

// Helper for inconsistent API
// Wrap around @DbLookup/@DbColumn/@Trim/@Unique calls to have an array returned
function $A( object ){
 // undefined/null -> empty array
 if( typeof object === 'undefined' || object === null ){ return []; }
 if( typeof object === 'string' ){ return [ object ]; }
 
 // Collections (Vector/ArrayList/etc) -> convert to Array
 if( typeof object.toArray !== 'undefined' ){
  return object.toArray();
 }
 
 // Array -> return object unharmed 
 if( object.constructor === Array ){ return object; }  
 
 // Return array with object as first item
 return [ object ];
}

E.g.
@Unique( 1, 1, 1 ) -> 1
$A( @Unique( 1, 1, 1 ) -> [ 1 ]

@Trim( '', '', 'a', '' ) -> 'a'
$A( @Trim( '', '', 'a', '' ) ) -> ['a']

If IBM fix this inconcistency, your code will not break if you're using the above function. Call it whatever you like. I called it $A from the $A function in MooTools.

Share and enjoy!