The ReferenceError object represents an error when a non-existent variable is referenced.
Syntax
new ReferenceError([message[, fileName[, lineNumber]]])
Parameters
messageOptional- Optional. Human-readable description of the error.
fileNameOptional- Optional. The name of the file containing the code that caused the exception.
lineNumberOptional- Optional. The line number of the code that caused the exception.
Examples
Catching a ReferenceError
try {
let a = undefinedVariable
} catch (e) {
console.log(e instanceof ReferenceError) // true
console.log(e.message) // "undefinedVariable is not defined"
console.log(e.name) // "ReferenceError"
console.log(e.fileName) // "Scratchpad/1"
console.log(e.lineNumber) // 2
console.log(e.columnNumber) // 6
console.log(e.stack) // "@Scratchpad/2:2:7\n"
}
Creating a ReferenceError
try {
throw new ReferenceError('Hello', 'someFile.js', 10)
} catch (e) {
console.log(e instanceof ReferenceError) // true
console.log(e.message) // "Hello"
console.log(e.name) // "ReferenceError"
console.log(e.fileName) // "someFile.js"
console.log(e.lineNumber) // 10
console.log(e.columnNumber) // 0
console.log(e.stack) // "@Scratchpad/2:2:9\n"
}
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| ECMAScript (ECMA-262) The definition of 'NativeError constructor' in that specification. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Update compatibility data on GitHub
| Desktop | Mobile | Server | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ReferenceError() constructor | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 5.5 | Opera Full support 5 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 10.1 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 | nodejs Full support 0.1.100 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support