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JavaScript JavaScript Basics (Retired) Working With Numbers Review Numbers and the Math Object

Should this not be NaN since the code uses parseInt and not parseFloat? The number inside the string is a floating point

The number inside the string is a floating point. To be correct, should the code not be console.log(parseFloat('.5 FTE'));?

I've tested this and the original question returns an error.

2 Answers

LaVaughn Haynes
LaVaughn Haynes
12,397 Points

It should be NaN in the quiz.

With parseInt() and parseFloat() It's going to go from left to right and return as many characters as it can. If it can't return any characters then it's NaN.

Floating point numbers can start with a dot, so in your example with parseFloat() it will return .5 and throw away the ' FTE' part.

The quiz uses parseInt() though, and since the first character eliminates the possibility of returning an integer (an integer can't start with a dot) it just throws away the whole thing and you get NaN.

I don't know if that answers your question.

Yes it does, thank you. I accidentally clicked the answer "Syntax Error" instead of "NaN". The quiz responded with something along the lines of "There is nothing wrong with this code." That threw me off since I would expect it to return an error (NaN, not syntax error.) It must have just been an error within the quiz.