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JavaScript Data Types

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JavaScript is a dynamically typed (also called loosely typed) scripting language. In JavaScript, variables can receive different data types over time.

The latest ECMAScript standard defines eight data types Out of which seven data types are Primitive(predefined) and one complex or Non-Primitive.

Primitive Data Types

The predefined data types provided by JavaScript language are known as primitive data types. Primitive data types are also known as in-built data types.

  • Number: JavaScript numbers are always stored in double-precision 64-bit binary format IEEE 754. Unlike other programming languages, you don’t need int, float, etc to declare different numeric values.
  • String: JavaScript Strings are similar to sentences. They are made up of a list of characters, which is essentially just an “array of characters, like “Hello GeeksforGeeks” etc.
  • Boolean: Represent a logical entity and can have two values: true or false.
  • Null: This type has only one value that is null.
  • Undefined: A variable that has not been assigned a value is undefined.
  • Symbol: Symbols return unique identifiers that can be used to add unique property keys to an object that won’t collide with keys of any other code that might add to the object.
  • BigInt: BigInt is a built-in object in JavaScript that provides a way to represent whole numbers larger than 253-1.

Non-Primitive Data Types:

The data types that are derived from primitive data types of the JavaScript language are known as non-primitive data types. It is also known as derived data types or reference data types.

  • Object: It is the most important data type and forms the building blocks for modern JavaScript. We will learn about these data types in detail in further articles.

JavaScript Primitive Data Types Examples:

Number:

The number type in JavaScript contains both integer and floating-point numbers. Besides these numbers, we also have some ‘special-numbers’ in javascript that are: ‘Infinity’, ‘-Infinity’, and ‘NaN’. Infinity basically represents the mathematical ‘?’. The ‘NaN’ denotes a computational error.

let num = 2; // Integer 
let num2 = 1.3; // Floating point number
let num3 = Infinity; // Infinity
let num4 = 'something here too'/2; // NaN

String:

A String in javascript is basically a series of characters that are surrounded by quotes. There are three types of quotes in Javascript, which are:

let str = "Hello There";
let str2 = 'Single quotes works fine';
let phrase = `can embed ${str}`;

There’s no difference between ‘single’ and “double” quotes in javascript. Backticks provide extra functionality as with their help of them we can embed variables inside them.

let name = "Mukul";
// embed a variable
alert( `Hello, ${name}!` ); // Hello, Mukul!

Boolean:

The boolean type has only two values: true and false. This data type is used to store yes/no values: true means “yes, correct”, and false means “no, incorrect”.

 let isCoding = true; // yes
let isOld = false; // no

NULL:

The special null value does not belong to any of the default data types. It forms a separate type of its own which contains only the null value:

let age = null;

The ‘null’ data type basically defines a special value that represents ‘nothing’, ’empty’, or ‘value unknown’. Undefined Just like null, Undefined makes its own type. The meaning of undefined is ‘value is not assigned’.

let x;
console.log(x); // undefined

Symbol:

Symbols are new primitive built-in object types introduced as part of ES6. Symbols return unique identifiers that can be used to add unique property keys to an object that won’t collide with keys of any other code that might add to the object. They are used as object properties that cannot be recreated. It basically helps us to enable encapsulation or information hiding.

let symbol1 = Symbol("Geeks")
let symbol2 = Symbol("Geeks")

// Each time Symbol() method
// is used to create new global Symbol
console.log(symbol1 == symbol2); // False

BigInt:

BigInt is a built-in object in JavaScript that provides a way to represent whole numbers larger than 253-1. The largest number that JavaScript can reliably represent with the Number primitive is 253-1, which is represented by the MAX_SAFE_INTEGER constant.

let bigBin = BigInt("0b1010101001010101001111111111111111");
// 11430854655n
console.log(bigBin);

JavaScript Non-Primitive Data Types Examples:

Object:

JavaScript objects are fundamental data structures used to store collections of data. They consist of key-value pairs and can be created using curly braces {} or the new keyword. Understanding objects is crucial, as everything in JavaScript is essentially an object.

Object creation:

Using the “object constructor” syntax:

let person = new Object(); 

Using the “object literal” syntax:

let person = {};  //

Both these methods are correct, though it’s totally your call what to choose. We can also put properties inside an Object.


Last Updated : 22 Nov, 2023
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