Is Passing a String to setTimeout Ever Justified?

When is Passing a String to setTimeout Acceptable?

Passing a string to setTimeout or setInterval is generally discouraged due to its drawbacks, including execution in the global scope, performance issues, and potential security risks. However, the question arises: are there ever legitimate reasons for resorting to this deprecated practice?

Global Scope Access

The sole potential scenario identified is when accessing a function or variable existing in the global scope that has been overridden locally. However, this suggests poor code design as it introduces conflict between local and global identifiers.

Historical Origins and Legacy Support

The deprecated syntax is likely allowed due to historical reasons. Initially, setTimeout and setInterval only accepted a string of code as the first argument. The support for passing a function object reference was introduced later.

Therefore, maintaining backward compatibility for existing code, legacy browsers, and IoT devices that may rely on older JavaScript versions necessitates preserving the string-based syntax. Nonetheless, it is strongly recommended to adopt the preferable syntax using a function expression for modern development.

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