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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +Title: '.MIN_VALUE' |
| 3 | +Description: 'Returns the smallest positive number representable in JavaScript, greater than 0.' |
| 4 | +Subjects: |
| 5 | + - 'Code Foundations' |
| 6 | + - 'Computer Science' |
| 7 | +Tags: |
| 8 | + - 'Const' |
| 9 | + - 'JavaScript' |
| 10 | + - 'Numbers' |
| 11 | +CatalogContent: |
| 12 | + - 'learn-javascript' |
| 13 | + - 'paths/computer-science' |
| 14 | +--- |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +The `Number.MIN_VALUE` constant represents the smallest positive numeric value that can be represented in JavaScript, which is greater than `0` but very close to it. |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +## Syntax |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +```pseudo |
| 21 | +Number.MIN_VALUE |
| 22 | +``` |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +**Parameters:** |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +None |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +**Return value:** |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +A number (`5e-324`) which is the smallest positive floating-point value representable in JavaScript. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +## Example 1: Comparing tiny numbers with `.MIN_VALUE` |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +This example checks if a number is smaller than JavaScript's smallest positive value: |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +```js |
| 37 | +const tiny = 1e-324; |
| 38 | +console.log(tiny < Number.MIN_VALUE); |
| 39 | +``` |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +The output of this code is: |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +```shell |
| 44 | +true |
| 45 | +``` |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +This confirms that `1e-324` is smaller than `Number.MIN_VALUE`, meaning JavaScript treats it as effectively zero. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +## Example 2: Using `.MIN_VALUE` in scientific precision checks |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +This example determines if a number is too small to be considered non-zero in physics simulations: |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +```js |
| 54 | +function isEffectivelyZero(num) { |
| 55 | + return Math.abs(num) < Number.MIN_VALUE; |
| 56 | +} |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +console.log(isEffectivelyZero(1e-325)); |
| 59 | +console.log(isEffectivelyZero(1e-320)); |
| 60 | +``` |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +The output of this code is: |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +```shell |
| 65 | +true |
| 66 | +false |
| 67 | +``` |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +The function detects when a value is smaller than what JavaScript can reliably represent as a non-zero number. |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +## Codebyte Example: Handling rounding errors in financial apps with `.MIN_VALUE` |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +This example uses `.MIN_VALUE` to ignore balances that are too tiny to count as real money: |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +```js |
| 76 | +const balance = 0.0000000000000000000000001; |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +if (balance < Number.MIN_VALUE) { |
| 79 | + console.log('Balance is effectively zero'); |
| 80 | +} else { |
| 81 | + console.log('Balance is non-zero'); |
| 82 | +} |
| 83 | +``` |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +## Frequently asked questions |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +### 1. Is `Number.MIN_VALUE` negative? |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +No. It is the smallest positive number JavaScript can represent. It is greater than 0. |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +### 2. What's the difference between `Number.MIN_VALUE` and `Number.MIN_SAFE_INTEGER`? |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +`MIN_VALUE` is the smallest positive float value (`5e-324`), while `MIN_SAFE_INTEGER` is the most negative integer that can be accurately represented. |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +### 3. Why does dividing `Number.MIN_VALUE` sometimes return 0? |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +When a value becomes smaller than what JavaScript can represent, it underflows to 0. |
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