Double.NaN Field

Definition

Represents a value that is not a number (NaN). This field is constant.

public const double NaN = NaN;

Field Value

Value = NaN

Examples

The following example illustrates the use of NaN.

Double zero = 0;
  
// This condition will return false.
if ((0 / zero) == Double.NaN)
   Console.WriteLine("0 / 0 can be tested with Double.NaN.");
else
   Console.WriteLine("0 / 0 cannot be tested with Double.NaN; use Double.IsNan() instead.");

Remarks

A method or operator returns NaN when the result of an operation is undefined. For example, the result of dividing zero by zero is NaN, as the following example shows. (However, dividing a non-zero number by zero returns either PositiveInfinity or NegativeInfinity, depending on the sign of the divisor.)

double zero = 0.0;
Console.WriteLine("{0} / {1} = {2}", zero, zero, zero/zero);
// The example displays the following output:
//         0 / 0 = NaN

In addition, a method call with a NaN value or an operation on a NaN value returns NaN, as the following example shows.

double nan1 = Double.NaN;

Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} = {2}", 3, nan1, 3 + nan1);
Console.WriteLine("Abs({0}) = {1}", nan1, Math.Abs(nan1));
// The example displays the following output:
//       3 + NaN = NaN
//       Abs(NaN) = NaN

Use the IsNaN method to determine whether a value is not a number. The Equality operator considers two NaN values to be unequal to one another. In general, Double operators cannot be used to compare Double.NaN with other Double values, although comparison methods (such as Equals and CompareTo) can. The following example illustrates the difference in behavior between Double comparison operators and methods.

using System;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      Console.WriteLine("NaN == NaN: {0}", Double.NaN == Double.NaN);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN != NaN: {0}", Double.NaN != Double.NaN);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN.Equals(NaN): {0}", Double.NaN.Equals(Double.NaN));
      Console.WriteLine("! NaN.Equals(NaN): {0}", ! Double.NaN.Equals(Double.NaN));
      Console.WriteLine("IsNaN: {0}", Double.IsNaN(Double.NaN));

      Console.WriteLine("\nNaN > NaN: {0}", Double.NaN > Double.NaN);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN >= NaN: {0}", Double.NaN >= Double.NaN);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN < NaN: {0}", Double.NaN < Double.NaN);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN < 100.0: {0}", Double.NaN < 100.0);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN <= 100.0: {0}", Double.NaN <= 100.0);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN >= 100.0: {0}", Double.NaN > 100.0);
      Console.WriteLine("NaN.CompareTo(NaN): {0}", Double.NaN.CompareTo(Double.NaN));
      Console.WriteLine("NaN.CompareTo(100.0): {0}", Double.NaN.CompareTo(100.0));
      Console.WriteLine("(100.0).CompareTo(Double.NaN): {0}", (100.0).CompareTo(Double.NaN));
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       NaN == NaN: False
//       NaN != NaN: True
//       NaN.Equals(NaN): True
//       ! NaN.Equals(NaN): False
//       IsNaN: True
//
//       NaN > NaN: False
//       NaN >= NaN: False
//       NaN < NaN: False
//       NaN < 100.0: False
//       NaN <= 100.0: False
//       NaN >= 100.0: False
//       NaN.CompareTo(NaN): 0
//       NaN.CompareTo(100.0): -1
//       (100.0).CompareTo(Double.NaN): 1

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also