language features - C# method call with parameter name and colon

Question

I've begun to notice at times when I'm making method calls in C# that the names of the parameters for the method I'm calling will show up in the intellisense list appended with a colon, and that I can then format the method call thusly:

MethodCall(parameter1:value1, parameter2:value2);

Is this a new language feature? It reminds me of the way you can call stored procedures in SQL and specify parameter names like so:

spDoSomeStuff @param1 = 1, @param2 = 'other param'

Is this a similar feature? If so, to what end? If not, what is it and what is it to be used for.

Answer 1

It's a new feature. See here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd264739.aspx Named parameters are standard in ObjectiveC for instance. It takes some time to get used to them but they are a good thing. Only from looking you can tell what a parameter is meant for.