Check that object is null in solidity mapping

Question

I have this solidity mapping

mapping (string => Ticket) public myMapping;

I want to check if myMapping[key] exists or not. How can I check?

Answer 1

The entire storage space is virtually initialized to 0 (there is no undefined). So you have to compare the value to the 0 value for your type. For example, mapping[key] == address(0x0) or mapping[key] = bytes4(0x0).

Answer 2

There is no direct method to check whether the mapping has particular key. But you can check if mapping property has value or not. The following example considered that the Ticket is the struct with some property.

pragma solidity >=0.4.21 <0.6.0;

contract Test {

    struct Ticket {
       uint seatNumber;
    }

    mapping (string => Ticket) myMapping;

    function isExists(string memory key) public view returns (bool) {

        if(myMapping[key].seatNumber != 0){
            return true;
        } 
        return false;
    }

    function add(string memory key, uint seatNumber) public returns (bool){            
        myMapping[key].seatNumber = seatNumber;            
        return true;
    }
}