What is a primitive data type?

Primitive data types are the basic values that we use to build a webpage.

Note: A primitive value is neither a property nor a method. It's a basic value used in a property, method, variable, or function.

Types of primitive data in JavaScript

JavaScript has seven (7) primitive values:

1. Number primitive data type

JavaScript allows the following number types:

  • Integers (For instance, 300)

  • Decimals (For example, 300.75)

  • Scientific notations (For instance, 3e2)

Example

let nbr1 = 300;
let nbr2 = 300.5;
console.log(nbr1 + nbr2);

2. String primitive data type

We create string data types by enclosing zero or more characters in quotes.

JavaScript allows the following quotes:

  • Double quotes (For instance, "300")

  • Single quotes (For example, '300')

  • Backtick quotes (For instance, `300`

Example

let strExample = "Hello World";
console.log(strExample);
let strExample2 = 'Welcome To Educative';
console.log(strExample2);
let strExample3 = `Learning is fun`;
console.log(strExample3);

3. Boolean primitive data type

Boolean data types state the falseness or truthfulness of an expression. true and false are the two boolean values in JavaScript.

Example

console.log(Boolean(300)); // true
console.log(Boolean(undefined)); // false

Note: JavaScript's values are true except 0 (zero), false, "" (empty string), NaN (Not a Number), null, undefined, and 0n (BigInt zero).

4. Undefined primitive data type

JavaScript automatically assigns the undefined primitive data type to any variable declared without an initial value.

Example

let myName;
console.log(typeof myName); // undefined

5. Null primitive data type

We use the null primitive data type to indicate an intentional absence of a value.

Example

let myName = null;
console.log(typeof myName); // "object"

In the code snippet above, the null expresses that we intentionally left the variable empty. Therefore, the typeof myName returned "object"—not undefined.

6. Symbol primitive data type

We create symbol data types by invoking the Symbol() function in a JavaScript runtime environment.

Example

let mySym = Symbol("randomTest");
console.log(typeof mySym); // "symbol"

7. BigInt primitive data type

We mainly use the BigInt (Big Integer) data type for arbitrarily lengthy integers.

We can create a BigInt value by:

  1. Appending the letter "n" to an integer

  2. Providing the integer as the BigInt() function's argument

Example

console.log(BigInt(375)); // 375n
New on Educative
Learn to Code
Learn any Language as a beginner
Develop a human edge in an AI powered world and learn to code with AI from our beginner friendly catalog
🏆 Leaderboard
Daily Coding Challenge
Solve a new coding challenge every day and climb the leaderboard

Free Resources

Attributions:
  1. undefined by undefined
License: Creative Commons-Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0)