Message
RangeError: invalid array length (Firefox) RangeError: Invalid array length (Chrome) RangeError: Invalid array buffer length (Chrome)
Error type
{{jsxref("RangeError")}}
What went wrong?
You were creating an {{jsxref("Array")}} or an {{jsxref("ArrayBuffer")}} which has a length which is either negative or larger or equal to 232.
You were setting the {{jsxref("Array.length")}} property, to a value which is either negative or larger or equal to 232.
Why are Array and ArrayBuffer length limited? The length
property of an Array or an ArrayBuffer is represented with an unsigned 32-bit integer, that can only store values which are in the range from 0 to 232-1.
If you are creating an Array, with the constructor, you probably want to use the literal notation instead, as the first argument is interpreted as the length of the Array.
Oterwise, you might want to clamp the length before setting the length property, or using it as argument of the constructor.
Examples
Invalid cases
new Array(Math.pow(2, 40)) new Array(-1) new ArrayBuffer(Math.pow(2, 32)) new ArrayBuffer(-1) let a = []; a.length = a.length - 1; // set -1 to the length property let b = new Array(Math.pow(2, 32) - 1); b.length = b.length + 1; // set 2^32 to the length property
Valid cases
[ Math.pow(2, 40) ] // [ 1099511627776 ] [ -1 ] // [ -1 ] new ArrayBuffer(Math.pow(2, 32) - 1) new ArrayBuffer(0) let a = []; a.length = Math.max(0, a.length - 1); let b = new Array(Math.pow(2, 32) - 1); b.length = Math.min(0xffffffff, a.length + 1); // 0xffffffff is the hexadecimal notation for 2^32 - 1. // which can also be written as (-1 >>> 0)
See also
- {{jsxref("Array")}}
- {{jsxref("Array.length")}}
- {{jsxref("ArrayBuffer")}}