Making our way through the twists and turns of our full Node.js Error Handling series, today we'll be checking out the SyntaxError in Node. As with nearly every other programming language on the market, a Node SyntaxError indicates that a code statement could not be correctly parsed, which means that the executor has no way of determining the intent behind the code. This usually happens as a result of typos, but the actual error messages associated with SyntaxErrors can be fairly vague and not all that useful.
In this article we'll examine the Node SyntaxError by first looking at where it resides in the larger Node.js Error Class Hierarchy. We'll then examine four different functional code samples, each of which demonstrate the current techniques of code evaluation that can potentially throw Node SyntaxErrors, so let's get to it!
The Technical Rundown
Most Node.js errors inherit from the Error base class, or extend from an inherited class therein. The full error hierarchy of this error is:
ErrorSyntaxError
Full Code Sample
Below is the full code sample we'll be using in this article. It can be copied and pasted if you'd like to play with the code yourself and see how everything works.
const logging = require('logging');
const vm = require('vm');function executeTests () {
logging.lineSeparator("functionTest(2, 5, 'return x * y')", 60);
functionTest(2, 5, 'return x * y');logging.lineSeparator("functionTest(2, 5, 'return x y')", 60);
functionTest(2, 5, 'return x y');logging.lineSeparator("evalTest('3 * 6')", 60);
evalTest('3 * 6');logging.lineSeparator("evalTest('3 | 6')", 60);
evalTest('3 _ 6');logging.lineSeparator("requireTest(4, 7, './multiply.js')", 60);
requireTest(4, 7, './multiply.js');logging.lineSeparator("requireTest(4, 7, './multiply_invalid.js')", 60);
requireTest(4, 7, './multiply_invalid.js');logging.lineSeparator("vmTest('5 * 8')", 60);
vmTest('5 * 8');logging.lineSeparator("vmTest('5 # 8')", 60);
vmTest('5 # 8');
}function evalTest (body) {
try {
// Execute eval(body) and output result.
logging.log(eval(body));
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}function functionTest (x, y, body) {
try {
// Create function body.
let f = new Function ('x', 'y', body);
// Output function result with params passed as args.
logging.log(`${x} * ${y} = ${f(x, y)}`);
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}function requireTest (x, y, path) {
try {
// Get multiply function from require path.
let f = require(path).multiply;
// Output function result with params passed as args.
logging.log(`${x} * ${y} = ${f(x, y)}`);
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}function vmTest (body) {
try {
// Run the body code in current context.
logging.log(vm.runInThisContext(body));
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}
executeTests();
// logging module - app.js
const SeparatorCharacterDefault = '-';
const SeparatorLengthDefault = 40;module.exports = {
/**
* Outputs a line separator via console.log, with optional first argument text centered in the middle.
*/
lineSeparator: function () {
// Check if at least one argument of string type is passed.
if (arguments.length >= 1 && typeof(arguments[0]) === 'string') {
lineSeparatorWithInsert(arguments[0], arguments[1], arguments[2]);
} else {
// Otherwise, assume default separator without insertion.
lineSeparator(arguments[0], arguments[1]);
}
},/**
* Log the passed object or value.
*
* @param value Value to be logged to the console.
*/
log: function (value) {
if (value instanceof Error) {
logError(value, arguments[1]);
} else {
logValue(value);
}
}
};/**
* Outputs a line separator via console.log.
*
* @param length Total separator length.
* @param char Separator character.
*/
function lineSeparator (length = SeparatorLengthDefault, char = SeparatorCharacterDefault) {
// Default output to insertion.
logValue(Array(length).join(char));
}/**
* Outputs a line separator via console.log with inserted text centered in the middle.
*
* @param insert Inserted text to be centered.
* @param length Total separator length.
* @param char Separator character.
*/
function lineSeparatorWithInsert (insert, length = SeparatorLengthDefault, char = SeparatorCharacterDefault) {
// Default output to insertion.
let output = insert;if (insert.length < length) {
// Update length based on insert length, less a space for margin.
length -= insert.length + 2;
// Halve the length and floor left side.
let left = Math.floor(length / 2);
let right = left;
// If odd number, add dropped remainder to right side.
if ((length % 2) !== 0) {
right += 1;
}// Surround insert with separators.
output = `${Array(left).join(char)} ${insert} ${Array(right).join(char)}`;
}logValue(output);
}/**
* Logs an Error with explicit/inexplicit tag, error name, and message.
*
* @param error Error to be logged.
* @param explicit Determines if passed Error was explicit (intended) or not.
*/
function logError(error, explicit = true) {
console.log(`[${explicit ? 'EXPLICIT' : 'INEXPLICIT'}] ${error.name}: ${error.message}`);
// Output stack, without initial error message line to avoid duplication.
console.log(error.stack.slice(error.stack.indexOf("\n") + 1));
}
/**
* Logs a value (string, object, number, etc).
*
* @param value Value to be logged.
*/
function logValue(value) {
console.log(value);
}
When Should You Use It?
As mentioned, a SyntaxError will be thrown when evaluating code that doesn't make lexical sense to the interpreter. For example, this may occur because an expected token is missing between two values: x + y is a completely valid statement, while neglecting the + between would result in a SyntaxError.
In Node (and JavaScript above it), it is only possible to throw a SyntaxError within evaluated code. Code evaluation is the practice of taking a collection of code from another context (such as a String or an outside script file) and evaluating it inline, during execution of another script. For example, the built-in eval() function can be used for exactly this purpose, by evaluating a passed String argument as JavaScript code. In Node.js there are four possible forms of code evaluation that can throw SyntaxErrors: eval(...), new Function(...), vm, or require(...). We'll examine each of these scenarios one at a time in the small code samples found below.
We start with the Function constructor, which is a special keyword that allows functions to be created and evaluated inline using the new Function([arg1[, arg2[, ...argN]],] functionBody) syntax, as if creating a new instance of any other class:
function functionTest (x, y, body) {
try {
// Create function body.
let f = new Function ('x', 'y', body);
// Output function result with params passed as args.
logging.log(`${x} * ${y} = ${f(x, y)}`);
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}
The functionTest (x, y, body) function creates a new Function(...) and assigns it to the f local variable, which is then executed within the logging.log(...) call to output the result to the console. Consequently, calling functionTest(x, y, body) evaluates the body argument as the body of the new Function(...). We'll test this out with two different calls to this Function test function:
logging.lineSeparator("functionTest(2, 5, 'return x * y')", 60);
functionTest(2, 5, 'return x * y');
logging.lineSeparator("functionTest(2, 5, 'return x y')", 60);
functionTest(2, 5, 'return x y');
Executing these tests produces the following output:
----------- functionTest(2, 5, 'return x * y') -----------
2 * 5 = 10
----------- functionTest(2, 5, 'return x y') ------------
[EXPLICIT] SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier
at new Function (<anonymous>)
at functionTest (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:48:13)
at executeTests (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:9:3)
at Object.<anonymous> (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:94:1)
at Module._compile (module.js:632:14)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:646:10)
at Module.load (module.js:554:32)
at tryModuleLoad (module.js:497:12)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:489:3)
at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:676:10)
Unsurprisingly, the first invocation with a body of 'return x * y' works properly, while a body of 'return x y' is missing a token between the two parameters, so a SyntaxError is thrown.
Next up let's look at the evalTest(body) function, which tests the eval() built-in function by evaluating the passed body string code:
function evalTest (body) {
try {
// Execute eval(body) and output result.
logging.log(eval(body));
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}
Here's the test calls we're making:
logging.lineSeparator("evalTest('3 * 6')", 60);
evalTest('3 * 6');
logging.lineSeparator("evalTest('3 | 6')", 60);
evalTest('3 _ 6');
And this is the output that is produced:
------------------- evalTest('3 * 6') --------------------
18
------------------- evalTest('3 | 6') --------------------
[EXPLICIT] SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier
at evalTest (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:33:22)
at executeTests (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:15:3)
at Object.<anonymous> (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:94:1)
at Module._compile (module.js:632:14)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:646:10)
at Module.load (module.js:554:32)
at tryModuleLoad (module.js:497:12)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:489:3)
at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:676:10)
at startup (bootstrap_node.js:187:16)
There's a clear (and intentional) pattern forming here: The first of the test pairs works, while the second fails with some kind of SyntaxError.
Our third test function is requireTest(x, y, path), which invokes the require(...) built-in function to require the code file passed via the path parameter. In this case, it expects an exported function called multiply, so it grabs that value and uses it in a function call with the passed x and y parameters to output the multiplication result:
function requireTest (x, y, path) {
try {
// Get multiply function from require path.
let f = require(path).multiply;
// Output function result with params passed as args.
logging.log(`${x} * ${y} = ${f(x, y)}`);
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}
Since we're requiring outside files here this example requires a bit more code, found within two separate files. The first file is multiply.js:
module.exports = {
multiply: function(x, y) {
return x * y;
}
};
And the second is multiply_broken.js:
module.exports = {
multiply: function(x, y) {
return x $ y;
}
};
We now invoke the requireTest(x, y, body) function twice, once for each outside context file:
logging.lineSeparator("requireTest(4, 7, './multiply.js')", 60);
requireTest(4, 7, './multiply.js');
logging.lineSeparator("requireTest(4, 7, './multiply_invalid.js')", 60);
requireTest(4, 7, './multiply_invalid.js');
This results in the following output:
----------- requireTest(4, 7, './multiply.js') -----------
4 * 7 = 28
------- requireTest(4, 7, './multiply_invalid.js') -------
[EXPLICIT] SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier
return x $ y;
^
SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier
at createScript (vm.js:80:10)
at Object.runInThisContext (vm.js:139:10)
at Module._compile (module.js:599:28)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:646:10)
at Module.load (module.js:554:32)
at tryModuleLoad (module.js:497:12)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:489:3)
at Module.require (module.js:579:17)
at require (internal/module.js:11:18)
at requireTest (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:65:13)
As we can see, the multiply.js file contains no syntax issues, so it functions as expected, Meanwhile, the multiply_broken.js file contains an invalid token between return x and y;, so it throws a SyntaxError.
The final scenario in which Node.js can throw a SyntaxError is using the built-in vm module, which the ability to compile and run code in a V* Virtual Machine context. After requiring the module at the top of the file, our vmTest(body) function handles the testing:
function vmTest (body) {
try {
// Run the body code in current context.
logging.log(vm.runInThisContext(body));
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
// Output expected SyntaxErrors.
logging.log(e);
} else {
// Output unexpected Errors.
logging.log(e, false);
}
}
}
Just as we saw with the evalTest(body) function, vmTest(body) merely attempts to execute the passed body parameter String code in the current context and logs the result. Invoking this function occurs below:
logging.lineSeparator("vmTest('5 * 8')", 60);
vmTest('5 * 8');
logging.lineSeparator("vmTest('5 # 8')", 60);
vmTest('5 # 8');
Once again, the first invocation works properly, while the second contains an invalid token between the numerals, resulting in a thrown SyntaxError:
-------------------- vmTest('5 * 8') ---------------------
40
-------------------- vmTest('5 # 8') ---------------------
[EXPLICIT] SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token
5 # 8
^
SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token
at createScript (vm.js:80:10)
at Object.runInThisContext (vm.js:139:10)
at vmTest (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:82:20)
at executeTests (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:27:3)
at Object.<anonymous> (D:\work\Airbrake.io\Exceptions\NodeJS\Error\SyntaxError\app.js:94:1)
at Module._compile (module.js:632:14)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:646:10)
at Module.load (module.js:554:32)
at tryModuleLoad (module.js:497:12)
at Function.Module._load (module.js:489:3)
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