How do you determine and troubleshoot JavaScript stack size limitations in different browsers?

Debugging JavaScript Stack Size Limitations

Background

Client-side JavaScript stack overflows, particularly in Internet Explorer (IE), can arise due to a limited stack size compared to other browsers. This issue is often encountered when using third-party libraries that make numerous function calls.

Testing Stack Size Limit

To determine the stack size limit for different browsers, the following HTML test was developed:

<code class="html">


  <title>Stack Size Limit Test</title>


  <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>

The test revealed that IE8 raised a stack overflow at around 3200 function calls, while Firefox and Chrome supported significantly deeper recursion.

Identifying the Culprit

To identify the specific JavaScript function causing the stack overflow in IE, it would be useful to:

• Tie the stack-overflow exception to the function that raised it during runtime.
• Obtain a stack trace with the chain of functions in the stack at the time of the error.

JavaScript Stack Trace

JavaScript does not natively provide a stack trace capability. However, browser developer tools (e.g., Chrome DevTools, Firefox Developer Tools) offer ways to display the call stack at the time of an error.

Simpler Stack Size Limit Test

A simplified test using a recursive inc() function can also be used to determine the maximum stack size in a given browser:

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

try {
  inc();
}
catch(e) {
  // The StackOverflow sandbox adds one frame that is not being counted by this code
  // Incrementing once manually
  i++;
  console.log('Maximum stack size is', i, 'in your current browser');
}</code>

This test will print the maximum stack size to the console after the stack overflow occurs.

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