The valueOf() method of Temporal.ZonedDateTime instances throws a TypeError, which prevents Temporal.ZonedDateTime instances from being implicitly converted to primitives when used in arithmetic or comparison operations.

Syntax

valueOf()

Parameters

None.

Return value

None.

Exceptions

TypeError

Always thrown.

Description

Because both primitive conversion and number conversion call valueOf() before toString(), if valueOf() is absent, then an expression like yearMonth1 > yearMonth2 would implicitly compare them as strings, which may have unexpected results. By throwing a TypeError, Temporal.ZonedDateTime instances prevent such implicit conversions. You need to explicitly convert them to numbers using Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.epochNanoseconds, or use the Temporal.ZonedDateTime.compare() static method to compare them.

Examples

Arithmetic and comparison operations on Temporal.ZonedDateTime

All arithmetic and comparison operations on Temporal.ZonedDateTime instances should use the dedicated methods or convert them to primitives explicitly.

const zdt1 = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2022-01-01T00:00:00[America/New_York]",
);
const zdt2 = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2022-07-01T00:00:00[America/New_York]",
);
zdt1 > zdt2; // TypeError: can't convert ZonedDateTime to primitive type
Temporal.ZonedDateTime.compare(zdt1, zdt2); // -1

zdt2 - zdt1; // TypeError: can't convert ZonedDateTime to primitive type
zdt2.since(zdt1).toString(); // "PT4343H"

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Temporal.ZonedDateTime
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.toString()
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.toJSON()
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.toLocaleString()