Named Self Invoking Function

Question

Is there ever a reason to use a named self invoking function?

For example:

(function foo() 
{
     alert('Hello World! Named Self Invoking Function Here');
})();

As far as my learning has taken me, this acts the same as an anonymous self invoking function, with no extra advantages (you can't call it again following the invokation), and no extra disadvantages as it does not "pollute" the global scope (I think).

Are there any times when it would make sense to name a self invoking function like the above?

Answer 1

If you needed a recursive self-invoking function then it may make sense:

(function loop(i) {
    console.log(i);
    i++;
    if(i < 10) {
        loop(i);
    }
})(0);

Answer 2

I use this pattern for polling data from servers periodically. This makes the code less clutter (especially setTimeout line).

(function poll() {
  $.get("/somedata", function (data) {
    // Processing data...
    setTimeout(poll, 1000);
  });
})();

Answer 3

It would be useful for recursion, but you should avoid named function expressions for the time being. They are not supported correctly in Internet Explorer until version 9.

See: http://javascript.info/tutorial/functions-declarations-and-expressions

"IE<9 doesn’t support NFE"

Answer 4

Naming self-invoked functions can increase readability. For example in the case that you are creating several closures via self-invoked functions, by providing names it increases code readability at no harm (other than losing old-IE support, as noted.) In essence, you are creating named code blocks, which can be a nice way to break up a large function.

e.g.,

function bigFunction() {
   (function doTheFirstThing() {
      //code here.
   })();
   (function doTheSecondThing() {
     //code here.
   })(); 
}