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Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY

The Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY static data property represents the negative Infinity value.

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Value

The same as the negative value of the global Infinity property.

Property attributes of Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY
Writable no
Enumerable no
Configurable no

Description

The Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY value behaves slightly differently than mathematical infinity:

  • Any positive value, including POSITIVE_INFINITY, multiplied by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is NEGATIVE_INFINITY.
  • Any negative value, including NEGATIVE_INFINITY, multiplied by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is POSITIVE_INFINITY.
  • Any positive value divided by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is negative zero (as defined in IEEE 754).
  • Any negative value divided by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is positive zero (as defined in IEEE 754).
  • Zero multiplied by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is NaN.
  • NaN multiplied by NEGATIVE_INFINITY is NaN.
  • NEGATIVE_INFINITY, divided by any negative value except NEGATIVE_INFINITY, is POSITIVE_INFINITY.
  • NEGATIVE_INFINITY, divided by any positive value except POSITIVE_INFINITY, is NEGATIVE_INFINITY.
  • NEGATIVE_INFINITY, divided by either NEGATIVE_INFINITY or POSITIVE_INFINITY, is NaN.
  • x > Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY is true for any number x that isn't NEGATIVE_INFINITY.

You might use the Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY property to indicate an error condition that returns a finite number in case of success. Note, however, that NaN would be more appropriate in such a case.

Because NEGATIVE_INFINITY is a static property of Number, you always use it as Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY, rather than as a property of a number value.

Examples

Using NEGATIVE_INFINITY

In the following example, the variable smallNumber is assigned a value that is smaller than the minimum value. When the if statement executes, smallNumber has the value -Infinity, so smallNumber is set to a more manageable value before continuing.

js
let smallNumber = -Number.MAX_VALUE * 2;

if (smallNumber === Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY) {
  smallNumber = returnFinite();
}

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile Server
Chrome Edge Firefox Opera Safari Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet WebView Android Deno Node.js
NEGATIVE_INFINITY 1 12 1 3 1 18 4 10.1 1 1.0 4.4 1.0 0.10.0

See also

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Number/NEGATIVE_INFINITY