title: I'd like to understand the jQuery plugin syntax
body: <p>The jQuery site lists the basic plugin syntax for jQuery as this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>(function( $ ){    
    $.fn.myPlugin = function() {      
      // there's no need to do $(this) because
      // "this" is already a jquery object
  
      // $(this) would be the same as $($('#element'));
  
      this.fadeIn('normal', function(){    
        // the this keyword is a DOM element    
      });    
    };
  })( jQuery );
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I'd just like to understand what is going on there from Javascript's point of view, because it doesn't look like it follows any syntax I've seen JS do before.  So here's my list of questions:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>If you replace function($)... with a variable, say "the_function", the syntax looks like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code> (the_function)( jQuery );
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What is "( jQuery );" doing?  Are the parenthesis around the_function really necessary?  Why are they there?  Is there another piece of code you can give that is similar?</p></li>
  <li><p>It begins with function( $ ).  So it's creating a function, that as far as I can tell will never be run, with the parameter of $, which is already defined?  What is going on there?</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Thanks for the help!</p>