ArrayBuffer() constructor

The ArrayBuffer() constructor is used to create ArrayBuffer objects.

Syntax

new ArrayBuffer(length)

Parameters

length

The size, in bytes, of the array buffer to create.

Return value

A new ArrayBuffer object of the specified size. Its contents are initialized to 0.

Exceptions

A RangeError is thrown if the length is larger than Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER (>= 2 ** 53) or negative.

Compatibility notes

Starting with ECMAScript 2015, ArrayBuffer constructors require to be constructed with a new operator. Calling an ArrayBuffer constructor as a function without new, will throw a TypeError from now on.

var dv = ArrayBuffer(10);
// TypeError: calling a builtin ArrayBuffer constructor
// without new is forbidden
var dv = new ArrayBuffer(10);

Examples

Creating an ArrayBuffer

In this example, we create a 8-byte buffer with a Int32Array view referring to the buffer:

var buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);
var view   = new Int32Array(buffer);

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
ArrayBuffer
7
12
4
10
11.6
5.1
4
18
4
12
4.2
1.0
new_required
7
14
44
No
15
5.1
≤37
18
44
14
5
1.0

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/ArrayBuffer/ArrayBuffer