What does this jQuery function mean?

Question

I am trying to understand how a js library works, more specifically http://toopay.github.io/bootstrap-markdown/.

The whole js file is wrapped in this function:

!function ($) {
}(window.jQuery);

What does this do and how would I be able to call it again from outside the library?

This is immediately invoked function, similar to `(function($) {})(jQuery)`. — dfsq, Nov 13 '14 at 11:26
how can I reinvok this function from outside the library when I need it? — Vlad Otrocol, Nov 13 '14 at 11:27
You can't and you should not. It's used only to create a function scope to protect the value of `$` and make sure that inside this function `$` is always points to `jQuery`. — dfsq, Nov 13 '14 at 11:28
my real problem is this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/26905685/rails-stange-behaviour-when-using-bootstrap-markdown-gem @Juhana — Vlad Otrocol, Nov 13 '14 at 11:32
I thought that if I can recall this initialisation function manually on my page I would be able to generate the element I need. @Juhana — Vlad Otrocol, Nov 13 '14 at 11:33

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

1

It creates a function then immediately calls it. The reason it does that is just so all the variables it makes won't be global, as they'll be inside the function instead. The ! is just to avoid causing problems when it's concatenated with other scripts and to save space.

You can't call it yourself, nor should you.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

Community

answered Nov 13 '14 at 11:27

Andrea

1 Answers1