exical scope using JavaScript's function scoping. Immediately-invoked function expressions can be used to avoid variable hoisting from within blocks, protect against polluting the global environment and simultaneously allow public access to methods while retaining privacy for variables defined within the function.<br><br>
   <i>This pattern has been referred to as a self-executing anonymous function, but <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/cowboy">@cowboy</a> (Ben Alman) introduced the term IIFE as 