The Math.log()
function returns the natural logarithm (base e
) of a number, that is
The JavaScript Math.log()
function is equivalent to ln(x) in mathematics.
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Syntax
Math.log(x)
Parameters
x
- A number.
Return value
The natural logarithm (base e
) of the given number. If the number is negative, NaN
is returned.
Description
If the value of x
is 0, the return value is always -Infinity
.
If the value of x
is negative, the return value is always NaN
.
Because log()
is a static method of Math
, you always use it as Math.log()
, rather than as a method of a Math
object you created (Math
is not a constructor).
If you need the natural log of 2 or 10, use the constants Math.LN2
or Math.LN10
. If you need a logarithm to base 2 or 10, use Math.log2()
or Math.log10()
. If you need a logarithm to other bases, use Math.log(x) / Math.log(otherBase) as in the example below; you might want to precalculate 1 / Math.log(otherBase) .
Examples
Using Math.log()
Math.log(-1); // NaN, out of range Math.log(0); // -Infinity Math.log(1); // 0 Math.log(10); // 2.302585092994046
Using Math.log()
with a different base
The following function returns the logarithm of y
with base x
(ie. ):
function getBaseLog(x, y) { return Math.log(y) / Math.log(x); }
If you run getBaseLog(10, 1000)
it returns 2.9999999999999996
due to floating-point rounding, which is very close to the actual answer of 3.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript (ECMA-262) The definition of 'Math.log' in that specification. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Desktop | Mobile | Server | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
log | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 3 | Opera Full support 3 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 10.1 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 | nodejs Full support 0.1.100 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support