Using “named” parameters in function call

Question

Unfortunately PHP does not support named parameters, but I've noticed that the PHP syntax allows us something similar:

function list_items( $user, $archived ) { ... }

// This is the default way to call the function.
// It's not very clear what the value and false refer to:
list_items( 10, false );

// Alternative syntax I found which makes this more clear:
list_items( $user = 10, $archived = false );

Both function calls return the same data.

Question

• Any information on the actual difference between both calls?
• Is it a good idea to use the second kind of syntax or will it cause issues?
• Is that second syntax supported in any PHP 5.x version?

Answer 1

To answer this question: There are no named parameters.

The example in my question simply assigns values to variables and then passes those variables to the function.

list_items( $user = 10, $archived = false );

// is same as this:
$user = 10;
$archived = false;
list_items( $user, $archived );