---
title: DataView.prototype.getFloat16()
short-title: getFloat16()
slug: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DataView/getFloat16
page-type: javascript-instance-method
browser-compat: javascript.builtins.DataView.getFloat16
sidebar: jsref
---

The **`getFloat16()`** method of {{jsxref("DataView")}} instances reads 2 bytes starting at the specified byte offset of this `DataView` and interprets them as a 16-bit floating point number. There is no alignment constraint; multi-byte values may be fetched from any offset within bounds.

{{InteractiveExample("JavaScript Demo: DataView.prototype.getFloat16()")}}

```js interactive-example
// Create an ArrayBuffer with a size in bytes
const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(16);

const view = new DataView(buffer);
view.setFloat16(1, Math.PI);

console.log(view.getFloat16(1));
// Expected output: 3.140625
```

## Syntax

```js-nolint
getFloat16(byteOffset)
getFloat16(byteOffset, littleEndian)
```

### Parameters

- `byteOffset`
  - : The offset, in bytes, from the start of the view to read the data from.
- `littleEndian` {{optional_inline}}
  - : Indicates whether the data is stored in [little- or big-endian](/en-US/docs/Glossary/Endianness) format. If `false` or `undefined`, a big-endian value is read.

### Return value

A floating point number from `-65504` to `65504`.

### Exceptions

- {{jsxref("RangeError")}}
  - : Thrown if the `byteOffset` is set such that it would read beyond the end of the view.

## Examples

### Using getFloat16()

```js
const { buffer } = new Uint8Array([0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]);
const dataview = new DataView(buffer);
console.log(dataview.getFloat16(1)); // 0.00001537799835205078
```

## Specifications

{{Specifications}}

## Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

## See also

- [Polyfill of `DataView.prototype.getFloat16` in `core-js`](https://github.com/zloirock/core-js#float16-methods)
- [JavaScript typed arrays](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Typed_arrays) guide
- {{jsxref("DataView")}}
- {{jsxref("ArrayBuffer")}}
- {{jsxref("Float16Array")}}