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    SyntaxError

    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 SyntaxError object.

    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 SyntaxError should provide its own message property, in SpiderMonkey, it inherits Error.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)

    See also

    Document Tags and Contributors

    Contributors to this page: Sheppy, fscholz, Mingun, Sevenspade, arai, Potappo
    Last updated by: Mingun,