title: Passing variables VS passing values
body: <p>I would love to understand the difference between:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var the_timeout = setTimeout("alert(the_string);", 60000);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and:</p>
  
  <pre><code>  var the_timeout = setTimeout("alert(" + the_string + ");",60000);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I understand that the first passes the variable, and the second passes the value - but what does that mean exactly and why does it matter? Why is the value passed in the second example?</p>
  
  <p>Also (I hope this is the same subject), why does this work:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var timeout=setTimeout("someFunction();", 3000)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>While this doesn't:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var timeout=setTimeout(someFunction(),3000);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>When calling a function, <code>someFunction()</code> works, so why do I have to add quotes when using <code>setTimeout()?</code></p>