4.3 Definitions

 

The following are informal definitions of key terms associated with ECMAScript.

4.3.1 Type

A type is a set of data values.

4.3.2 Primitive Value

A primitive value is a member of one of the types Undefined, Null, Boolean, Number, or String. A primitive value is a datum that is represented directly at the lowest level of the language implementation.

4.3.3 Object

An object is a member of the type Object. It is an unordered collection of properties each of which contains a primitive value, object, or function. A function stored in a property of an object is called a method.

4.3.4 Constructor

A constructor is a Function object that creates and initialises objects. Each constructor has an associated prototype object that is used to implement inheritance and shared properties.

4.3.5 Prototype

A prototype is an object used to implement structure, state, and behaviour inheritance in ECMAScript. When a constructor creates an object, that object implicitly references the constructor's associated prototype for the purpose of resolving property references. The constructor's associated prototype can be referenced by the program expression constructor.prototype, and properties added to an object's prototype are shared, through inheritance, by all objects sharing the prototype.

4.3.6 Native Object

A native object is any object supplied by an ECMAScript implementation independent of the host environment. Standard native objects are defined in this specification. Some native objects are built-in; others may be constructed during the course of execution of an ECMAScript program.

4.3.7 Built-in Object

A built-in object is any object supplied by an ECMAScript implementation, independent of the host environment, which is present at the start of the execution of an ECMAScript program. Standard built-in objects are defined in this specification, and an ECMAScript implementation may specify and define others. Every built-in object is a native object.

4.3.8 Host Object

A host object is any object supplied by the host environment to complete the execution environment of ECMAScript. Any object that is not native is a host object.

4.3.9 Undefined Value

The undefined value is a primitive value used when a variable has not been assigned a value.

4.3.10 Undefined Type

The type Undefined has exactly one value, called undefined.

4.3.11 Null Value

The null value is a primitive value that represents the null, empty, or non-existent reference.

4.3.12 Null Type

The type Null has exactly one value, called null.

4.3.13 Boolean Value

A boolean value is a member of the type Boolean and is one of two unique values, true and false.

4.3.14 Boolean Type

The type Boolean represents a logical entity and consists of exactly two unique values. One is called true and the other is called false.

4.3.15 Boolean Object

A Boolean object is a member of the type Object and is an instance of the built-in Boolean object. That is, a Boolean object is created by using the Boolean constructor in a new expression, supplying a boolean as an argument. The resulting object has an implicit (unnamed) property that is the boolean. A Boolean object can be coerced to a boolean value.

4.3.16 String Value

A string value is a member of the type String and is a finite ordered sequence of zero or more 16-bit unsigned integer values.

NOTE
Although each value usually represents a single 16-bit unit of UTF-16 text, the language does not place any restrictions or requirements on the values except that they be 16-bit unsigned integers.

4.3.17 String Type

The type String is the set of all string values.

4.3.18 String Object

A String object is a member of the type Object and is an instance of the built-in String object. That is, a String object is created by using the String constructor in a new expression, supplying a string as an argument. The resulting object has an implicit (unnamed) property that is the string. A String object can be coerced to a string value by calling the String constructor as a function (15.5.1).

4.3.19 Number Value

A number value is a member of the type Number and is a direct representation of a number.

4.3.20 Number Type

The type Number is a set of values representing numbers. In ECMAScript, the set of values represents the double-precision 64-bit format IEEE 754 values including the special "Not-a-Number" (NaN) values, positive infinity, and negative infinity.

4.3.21 Number Object

A Number object is a member of the type Object and is an instance of the built-in Number object. That is, a Number object is created by using the Number constructor in a new expression, supplying a number as an argument. The resulting object has an implicit (unnamed) property that is the number. A Number object can be coerced to a number value by calling the Number constructor as a function (15.7.1).

4.3.22 Infinity

The primitive value Infinity represents the positive infinite number value. This value is a member of the Number type.

4.3.23 NaN

The primitive value NaN represents the set of IEEE Standard "Not-a-Number" values. This value is a member of the Number type.