What underlies this JavaScript idiom: var self = this?

Question

I saw the following in the source for WebKit HTML 5 SQL Storage Notes Demo:

function Note() {
  var self = this;

  var note = document.createElement(\'d         


        

Answer 1

As mentioned several times above, 'self' is simply being used to keep a reference to 'this' prior to entering the funcition. Once in the function 'this' refers to something else.