BigInt

Arbitrary-precision integer values for very large whole numbers.

A BigInt is an arbitrary-precision integer — a whole number with no upper or lower size limit. It suits values that exceed the safe range of a standard Number, such as cryptographic quantities, large identifiers, and high-volume counters.

A standard Number is exact only for integers within roughly ±2^53−1 (about ±9 quadrillion). A BigInt stays exact at any magnitude.

Syntax

A BigInt is written as an integer with the n suffix:

bigint = ["-" | "+"] (decimalBigInt | binaryBigInt | octalBigInt | hexBigInt)

decimalBigInt = digit+ "n"
binaryBigInt  = "0b" binaryDigit+ "n"
octalBigInt   = "0o" octalDigit+ "n"
hexBigInt     = "0x" hexDigit+ "n"

digit       = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" | "8" | "9"
binaryDigit = "0" | "1"
octalDigit  = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7"
hexDigit    = digit | "A" | "B" | "C" | "D" | "E" | "F" | "a" | "b" | "c" | "d" | "e" | "f"

Structural characters

Symbol	Name	Unicode	Description
n	BigInt suffix	U+006E	Marks the value as a BigInt
0–9	Digits	Multiple	Decimal digits
-	Minus sign	U+002D	Negative value
0b	Binary prefix	Multiple	Begins a binary BigInt
0o	Octal prefix	Multiple	Begins an octal BigInt
0x	Hex prefix	Multiple	Begins a hexadecimal BigInt

Valid forms

Decimal BigInt

123n                 # positive BigInt
-42n                 # negative BigInt
0n                   # zero
9007199254740992n    # beyond the safe Number range

Alternative bases

A BigInt can also be written in binary, octal, or hexadecimal — each still ending in n. The following are all equal to 42n:

---
42n, 0x2An, 0b101010n, 0o52n

Invalid forms

These are genuine syntax errors:

0xn                  # ✗ invalid-number — missing hex digits
0bn                  # ✗ invalid-number — missing binary digits

A BigInt holds whole numbers only, so a fractional BigInt is an error:

---
123.45n              # ✗ a BigInt cannot have a fractional part (use Decimal)

Lenient fallbacks. A malformed suffix does not raise an error — it falls back to an open string. 123nn parses as the text "123nn", and n123 as the text "n123". A conformant parser SHOULD instead reject these; they are tracked as implementation issues.

Preservation of structure

Internet Object preserves:

• The chosen notation (decimal, binary, octal, hex)

• Exact integer precision at any magnitude

• Syntactic fidelity as written, except that an explicit + sign is not preserved

It does not interpret:

• Mathematical relationships between values

• Domain-specific constraints on large integers

Those semantics belong to the schema, the validator, or the application.

See Also

• Numeric Values — all numeric forms

• Number — standard floating-point numbers

• Decimal — fixed-precision decimal arithmetic