#693 – Named Arguments in Constructors Allow the Most Flexibility

If you declare multiple constructors for a class, you can create constructors that support any combination of parameters.

For example:

        public Dog(string name, int age, string favToy)
        {
            // init stuff
        }

        public Dog(string name) : this(name, 1, null) { }
        public Dog(string name, string favToy) : this(name, 1, favToy) { }

Using optional parameters, you can declare a single constructor:

        public Dog(string name, int age = 1, string favToy = null)
        {
            // init stuff
        }

But when you do pass in arguments for any optional parameters, you must pass them in the correct order, without skipping any.

To get around this problem, you can use named arguments when invoking the constructor.

            // Ok to omit age, but then favToy must be named argument
            Dog spot = new Dog("Spot", favToy: "Ball");