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When should you use a named function instead of an anonymous one in JavaScript?

For recursion (the function needs to call itself), for event listeners you will remove (removeEventListener needs the same reference), for critical code paths where stack traces matter, and for reusable functions called from multiple places.

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More FAQs in Anonymous Functions in JavaScript

A function without a name. It is often assigned to a variable (const greet = function() {}) or used as a callback (setTimeout(function() {}, 1000)). The variable has a name, but the function itself does not.

Worse stack traces (show <anonymous> instead of a name), no self-reference (cannot be used for recursion), harder to debug (the debugger shows <anonymous>), and cannot be removed with removeEventListener without a stored reference.

A function expression with an internal name, like const greet = function sayHi() {}. The internal name (sayHi) is only visible inside the function, useful for recursion and better stack traces. Outside, you use the variable name (greet).

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