Question

In the context of underscore.js:

// Create a safe reference to the Underscore object for use below.
   var _ = function(obj) { return new wrapper(obj); };

Simply put, what does this function return?

Answer 1

It is a wrapper function for the wrapper constructor to allow you using underscore without the new keyword. Calling underscore will always return a new wrapper instance.

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Btw, the wrapper function has been removed in this commit. The _ function itself is the constructor now, see Understanding the declaration of the underscore in _.js? for explanation.