Question

I realize that the $ is just sort of a convention for naming variables pointing to jQuery objects, and is also the function for document.getElementById(), but does function($) mean anything?

Edit: I actually meant

(function($) {
    /* ... */
})(jQuery);

Sorry for the confusion, but thanks for the answers.

Answer 1

Some code uses $ for jQuery (or other libraries) to keep the global scope clean. By default, jQuery takes over $ in the global scope, however, if extensions and whatnot avoid using the global $, it can keep the scope clean, along with helping jQuery work with other libraries.

(function ($) {
    //$ is now a jquery instance
})(jQuery);

Basically it’s a way to instantly execute code with a jQuery object without the function depending on a global-level variable. (Closures can also be created with it… But that’s the same idea [in this situation].)