I generally use the typeof operator:
if (typeof obj.foo !== 'undefined') {
// your code here
}
It will return "undefined" either if the property doesn’t exist or its value is undefined.
(See also: Difference between undefined and not being defined.)
There are other ways to figure out if a property exists on an object, like the hasOwnProperty method:
if (obj.hasOwnProperty('foo')) {
// your code here
}
And the in operator:
if ('foo' in obj) {
// your code here
}
The difference between the last two is that the hasOwnProperty method will check if the property exist physically on the object (the property is not inherited).
The in operator will check on all the properties reachable up in the prototype chain, e.g.:
var obj = { foo: 'bar'};
obj.hasOwnProperty('foo'); // true
obj.hasOwnProperty('toString'); // false
'toString' in obj; // true
As you can see, hasOwnProperty returns false and the in operator returns true when checking the toString method, this method is defined up in the prototype chain, because obj inherits form Object.prototype.