Errors, diagnostics and limits

When Varlig can’t work out a line, it shows an error in place of the answer. Look up the message below to see what usually causes it. The page also lists notation that Varlig recognises but doesn’t support, and the limits that stop a calculation from growing too large. An error on one line doesn’t stop the rest of the note from working.

Error messages

Message	What it means	Example
`Error: divide by zero`	Division by exactly zero	`10 / 0`, `split £90 among 0`
`Error: division without divisor`	An assignment whose value looks like a web address or dotted name followed by `/`	`link = example.com/docs`
`Error: imaginary number. For a complex answer, write …`	A real square root or logarithm of a negative number, or an inverse function outside its range. The message shows the complex form to write, such as `sqrt(-4 + 0i)`	`sqrt(-4)`, `ln(-1)`, `asin(2)`
`Error: incompatible units`	The units don’t match, or a value doesn’t suit the operation, such as comparing dates or slicing with `[a:b]`	`2 m + 3 kg`, `[1, 2, 3][0:2]`
`Error: unsupported multiplicative unit`	A root of money or a mass, a root that would leave an uneven unit, or multiplying a temperature	`sqrt(£4)`, `sqrt(4 m^3)`, `2 celsius * 3 m`
`Error: unsupported exponent operation`	A power the unit system can’t express	`2 m ^ 0.5`
`Error: unsupported unit in rate`	An exchange rate whose units don’t fit the conversion	`£100 in EUR at 1.17 EUR/USD`
No answer	Nothing to show: an unfinished calculation, a name that isn’t defined, or a definition line	`x =`, `tip(bill, pct) = bill * pct`
`Error: ∞`	A result too large or too small for the number format, a loan at 0% interest, or a historical exchange rate that isn’t available	`10^1000`, `monthly repayment on £12000 over 3 years at 0%`
`Error: missing rate: XXX`	No exchange rate for that currency, for example before rates have loaded	`100 USD in EUR`
`Error: imprecision due to magnitude`	A small number would be lost next to a very large one	`1e100 + 1`
`Error: overflow`	A date or number outside the range Varlig can represent	`1 January 2024 + 100000000 years`
`Error: calculation limit`	One of the limits was reached; also shown for the reversed form `5 combinations of 2`	`range(1, 2000)`, `factorial(100000)`
`Unsupported: Unknown name: …`	A name without a value inside `sum`, `product`, `solve`, `integrate` or a derivative at a point	`integrate(a*x, x, 0, 1)`
`Unsupported: unrecognized calculation …`	Varlig can’t read part of the line, such as a number whose commas don’t group thousands in threes; a comma is never a decimal point	`12,50`, `1,5`
`Unsupported: ambiguous commas in …`	Commas inside brackets that could either group thousands or separate values. The message shows both ways to write it	`max(1,000,2,000)`, `sum(10,100)`
`Unsupported: unknown time zone: …`	A place or zone in a time-zone conversion that Varlig doesn’t recognise	`3:00 pm London in Narnia`
`Unsupported: unknown unit: …`	A word after a number that isn’t a unit, when you convert it or add it to a date; check the spelling in the unit catalogue	`3 bananas in kg`, `today + 2 sprints`
`Unsupported: unknown ingredient: …`	An ingredient without a known density in a cup-to-gram conversion; pick a close match from the ingredient list	`1 cup rice in g`
`Unsupported: … needs a rate`	A tax named without a percentage. Add the rate, as in `with 20% VAT`, or set your sales tax in Settings	`£10.50 plus VAT`
`Unsupported: dates can't be added`	Two dates joined with `+`. Subtract them for the time between, or add a duration	`today + 25 December 2026`
`Unsupported: Function names can't contain spaces`	A function named with several words. The message suggests the same name with underscores	`area of circle(r) = pi * r^2`
`Unsupported: … has no …`	A weekday or day that the month doesn’t have, so no date is guessed	`fifth monday of February 2025`, `February 30 2025`
`Unsupported: recurring dates: …`	A repeating schedule rather than one date. Ask for the date you need, such as `next monday`	`every monday`, `every 2 weeks from 1 October 2026`
`Unsupported: …`	Something Varlig recognised but can’t do, such as extra words after a phrase; the message says what went wrong	`split £90 among 2.5`

Unsupported notation

Some notation looks like maths but isn’t supported. Rather than work out part of the line and give a misleading answer, Varlig shows a specific message that quotes the symbol where the problem starts, such as at "±".

Notation	Message	Instead
`10 ± 0.5`, `10 +/- 0.5`	`Unsupported: Uncertainty notation is not supported at "±"`	Work out each end separately: `10 - 0.5`, `10 + 0.5`
`2d6`	`Unsupported: Dice notation is not supported at "d"`	`random(1, 6) + random(1, 6)`
`5 < 4 < 10`	`Unsupported: Comparison chains are not supported at "<"; combine separate comparisons with &&`	`4 < 5 && 5 < 10`

Limits

What	Limit
Line and note size	64 KiB per line; 1 MiB and 10,000 lines per note
Exact fractions	Numerator and denominator up to 4,096 bits each
Decimal numbers	Coefficient up to 2^128−1, with an exponent from −128 to 127
Lists, including `range`	1,024 items
Matrices	1 to 32 rows and columns
Nested list or matrix brackets	16 levels
Summation or product over a counter	10,000 terms
Advanced operations (matrices, solving, calculus)	A shared budget of 100,000 steps
Parameters of your own function	32
Nested function calls	16, with at most 16,384 calls for each top-level call
Functions defined in a note	1,024
Derivative as a formula	8,192 characters
Equation solver	128 iterations
Integration	2,048 refinements, to a depth of 20

Reaching a limit shows Error: calculation limit on that line. No partial answer is shown, and the rest of the note keeps working. See Your own functions for the function limits in context.