Parenthesis for anonymous JavaScript functions

Question

Are they the same?

var multiply = function () {
      //..
      }();

var multiply1 = (function () {
      //..
      }());

johnny - note that (function() { })() and function() {}() can be different depending on the context - if not assigned to a variable, the latter will be interpreted as a statement (and a syntax error) rather than an expression. — Shog9
– Shog9, Commented Jul 9, 2011 at 16:33
Some people prefer (function(){}()) over (function(){})() - just a matter of taste — hugomg
– hugomg, Commented Jul 9, 2011 at 18:10

nicosantangelo · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-09 16:32:59Z

9

As mquander said in that case they are the same, but if you want to read a little more about it you can go to: An Important Pair of Parens.

answered Jul 9, 2011 at 16:32

nicosantangelo

13.8k3 gold badges35 silver badges47 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

2 Comments

I like this answer, agree with the article, and now I will start writing my function invocations with parens around them. Thanks!

...and also the same as (function () {...})(), which I prefer.

mqp · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-09 16:14:45Z

4

Yes, they are totally identical.

answered Jul 9, 2011 at 16:14

mqp

72.3k15 gold badges99 silver badges124 bronze badges

jfriend00 · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-09 16:18:10Z

2

They seem to work the same here in Chrome: http://jsfiddle.net/jfriend00/G5DZp/

answered Jul 9, 2011 at 16:18

jfriend00

711k104 gold badges1.1k silver badges1k bronze badges