Please note, this is a STATIC archive of website developer.mozilla.org from 03 Nov 2016, cach3.com does not collect or store any user information, there is no "phishing" involved.

The value null represents the intentional absence of any object value. It is one of JavaScript's primitive values.

Syntax

null 

Description

The value null is written with a literal, null (it's not an identifer for a property of the global object like undefined can be). In APIs, null is often retrieved in place where an object can be expected but no object is relevant. When checking for null or undefined beware of the differences between equality (==) and identity (===) operators (type-conversion is performed with the former).

// foo does not exist. It is not defined and has never been initialized:
> foo
"ReferenceError: foo is not defined"

// foo is known to exist now but it has no type or value:
> var foo = null; foo
"null"

Difference between null and undefined

typeof null        // object (bug in ECMAScript, should be null)
typeof undefined   // undefined
null === undefined // false
null  == undefined // true

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
ECMAScript 1st Edition (ECMA-262) Standard Initial definition.
ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'null value' in that specification.
Standard  
ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262)
The definition of 'null value' in that specification.
Standard  
ECMAScript 2017 Draft (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'null value' in that specification.
Draft  

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: liammonahan, tjcrowder, fscholz, x2357, Sheppy, dbruant, teoli
 Last updated by: liammonahan,