Are zero length timers still necessary in jQuery?

Question

I am finally getting around to really implementing some jQuery solutions for my apps (which is seeming to also involve a crash course in javascript).

In studying examples of plugins, I ran across this code. I'm assuming the author created the zero length timer to create some seperation of the running code, so that the init functon would finish quickly.

function hovertipInit() {

  var hovertipConfig = {'attribute':'hovertip',
                        'showDelay': 300,
                        'hideDelay': 700};

  var hovertipSelect = 'div.hovertip';


  window.setTimeout(function() {
    $(hovertipSelect).hovertipActivate(hovertipConfig,
                                       targetSelectById,
                                       hovertipPrepare,
                                       hovertipTargetPrepare);
  }, 0);

}

Is needing this type of seperation common?
Is creating the zero length timer still the best way to handle this situation, or is there a better to to handle this in jQuery?

Thanks,
Jim

Answer 1

Check out this article that explains when this is necessary.

Also check out this related question.

It is not very common, but is necessary when you need to escape the call stack of an event.