dollar sign in javascript methods

Question

Can someone explain the usage of the dollar sign here..

var updateProgressDiv = $get('updateProgressDiv');

scroll down to the functions.. http://mattberseth.com/blog/2007/05/ajaxnet_example_using_an_updat.html

Answer 1

It's merely part of the function name -- $ is allowed in JavaScript identifiers, so ($get) is the full function name.