Question

Is there a way to make a function private in backbone, so that it is only exposed to the model itself and also have access to this ?

How can I make updateTime private?

   var Timeline = Backbone.Model.extend({
        url: 'servertime/',

        start: function(){
            this.fetch({
                success: function(timeline, response){
                    timeline.updateTime();
                    setInterval(function() {
                        timeline.updateTime();
                    }, 60 * 1000);
                }
            });
        },

        updateTime: function(){  //How can I make this private?
            this.time = ...
        }
    });

Answer 1

You can achieve this by wrapping it all up in a self-invoking anonymous function, this way you are sure that updateTime is private:

(function() {
  var updateTime = function(){  // this stays private to this anonymous function
    this.time = ...
  },
  Timeline = Backbone.Model.extend({
    url: 'servertime/',

    start: function(){
      this.fetch({
        success: function(timeline, response){
          updateTime.call(timeline);
          setInterval(function() {
            updateTime.call(timeline);
          }, 60 * 1000);
        }
      });
    }
  });

})();