The method JComponentHelper::isEnabled('com_extension', true); checks if an extension is installed and returns a boolean.
The function will also throw an exception notice it the component is not installed due to the self::getComponent($option, $strict); in the same helper class.
Is there a way to avoid the notice if the component is not installed?
Check your database to see if the component is installed and enabled.
$db = JFactory::getDbo();
$db->setQuery("SELECT enabled FROM #__extensions WHERE name = 'component name'");
$is_enabled = $db->loadResult();
if the value of $is_enabled
is 1
, then your component is enabled.