How Does Browser JavaScript Stack Size Limit Impact Function Execution?

Browser Javascript Stack Size Limit: Uncovering the Complexity

Client-side Javascript stack overflow issues, particularly prevalent in IE, can arise from the browser's limited stack size compared to other browsers like Firefox or Chrome. This limitation can cause functions to break during execution due to insufficient stack space.

To illustrate the stack size limit, consider the following code:

<code class="html"><script type="text/javascript">
  function doSomething() {
    var i = 3200;
    doSomethingElse(i);
  }

  function doSomethingElse(i) {
    if (i == 0) return -1;
    doSomethingElse(i - 1);
  }

  doSomething();
</script></code>

When executed in IE, this code raises a stack overflow exception around i = 3200, while browsers like Chrome and Firefox can handle a significantly deeper recursion.

To identify the function responsible for the stack overflow and obtain a stack trace, a simple test can be performed:

<code class="javascript">var i = 0;
function inc() {
  i++;
  inc();
}

try {
  inc();
} catch (e) {
  // Adjust for the StackOverflow sandbox's additional frame
  i++;
  console.log('Maximum stack size is', i, 'in your current browser');
}</code>

This test incrementally calls the inc function until a stack overflow occurs. By logging the value of i when the exception is caught, the maximum stack size can be determined.

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