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Asked: 2026-05-13T19:05:01+00:00

nextplease.init = function() {…} is a function with no arguments. I’d expect nextplease.init and

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nextplease.init = function() {...} is a function with no arguments. I’d expect nextplease.init and
function() {nextplease.init();} to behave identically. Is there any possible difference between them (obviously, you can assign something to nextplease.init, but let’s exclude that)?
In particular, can there be a difference in behavior between window.addEventListener("load", nextplease.init, false); and window.addEventListener("load", function() {nextplease.init();}, false);?

The bug I’m trying to find is described in Objects in JavaScript defined and undefined at the same time (in a FireFox extension) Someone has suggested that using the first form instead of the second might make a difference.

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  1. Editorial Team

    One important difference is the value of the “this” keyword inside the body of the function referenced by nextplease.init.

    Assume nextplease is defined as such:

    nextplease = {};
nextplease.someCustomProperty = "hello";
nextplease.init = function () { alert(this.someCustomProperty); }

    In the first example, the value of “this” would be the DOM object, and the alert would fail:

    window.addEventListener("load", nextplease.init, false);

    In the second form, the value of “this” would be the nextplease object, and the alert would say, “hello”:

    window.addEventListener("load", function() {nextplease.init();}, false);

    Reference the MDC documentation:

    https://developer.mozilla.org/en/DOM/element.addEventListener

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