If a jQuery function calls itself in its completion callback, is that a recursive danger to the stack?

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I initially suspected that it would overflow the memory, but I wrote a short test to confirm

function test(){
  $(".logo img").css("position", "absolute");
  $(".logo img").css("top", "100px");
  $(".logo img").animate({top:0}, 500, function(){
      test();
      console.log("exits here");
  });
}

test();

and surprisingly, I saw

exits here
exits here
exits here
exits here
exits here
...

in my logs. Looks like "animate() schedules the callback for calling by some external dispatching mechanism and then terminates, in which case it will never overflow." is the right answer

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NXT
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NXT

Updated on June 05, 2022

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  • NXT
    NXT over 1 year

    I'm writing a little jQuery component that animates in response to button presses and also should go automatically as well. I was just wondering if this function recursive or not, I can't quite work it out.

    function animate_next_internal() {
    
      $('#sc_thumbnails').animate(
        { top: '-=106' }, 
        500, 
        function() {
          animate_next_internal();
        }
      ); 
    }  
    

    My actual function is more complicated to allow for stops and starts, this is just a simplified example.

    EDIT It could either overflow the stack or not, depending on how the events are handled internally. Possibilities:

    1. animate() directy calls the done callback, in which case an overflow is inevitable.

    2. animate() schedules the callback for calling by some external dispatching mechanism and then terminates, in which case it will never overflow.