How do I differentiate between a valid lookup and an empty response in Puppeteer using waitForSelector for various selectors? The snippet below shows one approach.
try {
await page.waitForSelector('.result-item', { timeout: 800 });
} catch (error) {
await page.waitForSelector('.no-data');
}
A reliable approach I used was to implement a custom function that polls the DOM for either selector. This way, you can circumvent the limitations of relying solely on try/catch with timeouts. By evaluating document.querySelector combinations within page.evaluate, you can more precisely determine which condition is met. This method allowed me to avoid unnecessary delays and repeated timeouts. In my experience, having explicit control over conditional checks proved to be more robust, especially in cases where both selectors might momentarily be absent.
I encountered similar challenges when using Puppeteer to differentiate responses. I opted for a slightly different approach by monitoring specific DOM attributes instead of solely relying on try/catch blocks for timeouts. I used page.waitForFunction along with a condition that checks the visibility and existence of either element. This method not only allowed me to validate the presence of a valid response but also to confirm that the element was rendered as expected before proceeding. It was a bit tedious to set up initially, but it paid off in terms of reliability and precision during execution.
hey, i tried using page.evaluate to check both selectors at once. it helped me avoid the whole try/catch mess and made my code a tad cleaner. maybe give it a whirl?