Reasoning behind nameless functions

[xwb]

This is becoming more common in a lot of code on the internet: something called immediately invoked function expression

// some code
(function(){
   //do some work 
})();
// more code

The bit I don't understand it why people do that instead of just

// some code
// do some work
// more code

It is actually 2 lines less. Also why do so many coders use inline variable assignments to function expressions. Why not just declare the function first and then call it like in any other language. Instead of

// function decl
// some code
x = decl(...)
// more code

we get

// some code
x = (function (...) {
   // function body
   } (...)
// more code

It is actually more difficult to read because you cannot see the flow so easily as it is obscured by the function body (which can be pretty big).

What is the reasoning behind IIFE other than making code difficult to read, decipher and maintain?

 

[feherke]

Hi

Closures. Something like namespaces in other languages.


Feherke.
[link feherke.github.com/]

http://feherke.github.com/

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