Summary
The SyntaxError object represents an error when trying to interpret syntactically invalid code.
Description
A SyntaxError is thrown when the JavaScript engine encounters tokens or token order that does not conform to the syntax of the language when parsing code.
Syntax
new SyntaxError([message[, fileName[, lineNumber]]])
Parameters
message- Optional. Human-readable description of the error
fileName- Optional. The name of the file containing the code that caused the exception
lineNumber- Optional. The line number of the code that caused the exception
Properties
SyntaxError.prototype- Allows the addition of properties to a
SyntaxErrorobject.
Methods
The global SyntaxError contains no methods of its own, however, it does inherit some methods through the prototype chain.
SyntaxError instances
Properties
-
SyntaxError.prototype.constructor - Specifies the function that created an instance's prototype.
-
SyntaxError.prototype.message -
Error message. Although ECMA-262 specifies that
SyntaxErrorshould provide its ownmessageproperty, in SpiderMonkey, it inheritsError.prototype.message. -
SyntaxError.prototype.name -
Error name. Inherited from
Error. -
SyntaxError.prototype.fileName -
Path to file that raised this error. Inherited from
Error. -
SyntaxError.prototype.lineNumber -
Line number in file that raised this error. Inherited from
Error. -
SyntaxError.prototype.columnNumber -
Column number in line that raised this error. Inherited from
Error. -
SyntaxError.prototype.stack -
Stack trace. Inherited from
Error.
Methods
Although the SyntaxError prototype object does not contain any methods of its own, SyntaxError instances do inherit some methods through the prototype chain.
Examples
Example: Catch an SyntaxError
try {
eval('hoo bar');
} catch (e) {
console.log(e instanceof SyntaxError); // true
console.log(e.message); // "missing ; before statement"
console.log(e.name); // "SyntaxError"
console.log(e.fileName); // "Scratchpad/1"
console.log(e.lineNumber); // 1
console.log(e.columnNumber); // 4
console.log(e.stack); // "@Scratchpad/1:2:3\n"
}
Example: Create an SyntaxError
try {
throw new SyntaxError('Hello', 'someFile.js', 10);
} catch (e) {
console.log(e instanceof SyntaxError); // true
console.log(e.message); // "Hello"
console.log(e.name); // "SyntaxError"
console.log(e.fileName); // "someFile.js"
console.log(e.lineNumber); // 10
console.log(e.columnNumber); // 0
console.log(e.stack); // "@Scratchpad/2:11:9\n"
}
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| ECMAScript 3rd Edition. | Standard | Initial definition. |
| ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262) The definition of 'SyntaxError' in that specification. |
Standard | |
| ECMAScript 6 (ECMA-262) The definition of 'SyntaxError' in that specification. |
Release Candidate |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |
| Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) |