Welcome back! In the last lesson, you learned about adding parameters to functions, which made them more interactive and flexible. Today, we are going to take it a step further by introducing optional parameters. This nifty feature in C# will allow you to make your functions even more versatile without complicating their usage.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to define functions with optional parameters. An optional parameter allows a function to be called without explicitly providing some of its arguments, which can simplify function calls and improve code readability. For instance, we'll create a ReportStatus function that has an optional level parameter:

C#
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1// Define a function with an optional parameter
2void ReportStatus(string status, string level = "Normal")
3{
4    Console.WriteLine($"[{level}] {status}");
5}
6
7// Example usage of ReportStatus function
8ReportStatus("Engines are operational");
9ReportStatus("Oxygen level is low", "Alert");

Optional parameters are a powerful feature that offers both simplicity and flexibility. By using optional parameters, you can make your code cleaner and easier to maintain. Imagine you are building various functions to handle different events during a spacecraft mission. With optional parameters, you can customize the function's behavior without adding extra complexity.

Understanding how to use optional parameters can greatly enhance your coding efficiency and make your functions more adaptable to a variety of tasks. This will not only save you time but also make your code more readable and manageable.

Excited to see optional parameters in action? Let's dive into the practice section and explore this efficient coding technique together!