What happens if you omit the semicolon before an IIFE in certain situations?
var a = 5
(function() {
console.log(a);
})();
If you omit the semicolon before an IIFE in certain situations, it could cause a syntax error because the previous line might be interpreted as a function call. In the provided example, JavaScript might interpret 'var a = 5' as a function that's being called with the function expression as an argument, resulting in an error like 'number is not a function'. This is because JavaScript has automatic semicolon insertion (ASI), but it doesn't always work as expected. This is why many style guides recommend always using semicolons in JavaScript, or if you prefer to omit them, being very careful with expressions that start with '(', '[', or '/', which can cause parsing issues. A common practice is to start IIFEs with a semicolon (;(function(){})()), especially in concatenated code, to prevent such errors.