Question

For the function doStuff below, is it possible to call sayHello (outside the function dostuff) even though it has the same name as an inner function?

var sayHello = function(){
    alert("Called from outside the function");
}
function doStuff(){
    sayHello();
    function sayHello(){
        alert("Called from inside the function. How can I call the sayHello function that is outside the scope of doStuff?");
    }
}
    doStuff();
​

In the Javascript code above, the function sayHello (which is the name of 2 functions) is invoked from inside the function, not outside.

Here it is on jsFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/5MSTU/

Answer 1

If the outer function is global, you can target it as a member of the window object.

window.sayHello();

Otherwise, you’ll need to use different names. JavaScript allows you to shadow variables, so an inner variable with the same name as an outer variable effectively disables access to the outer one.