title: Odd Namespace Declaration
body: <p>So I was going through some older code at work and came across this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>using Int16 = System.Int16;
  using SqlCommand = System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I have never seen a Namespace Declaration use an '=' before.  What's the point of using it? Are there any benefits declaring things this way?</p>
  
  <p>What else strikes me as odd is the fact that they even bothered declaring Int16.  Doesn't visual studio know what an Int16 is just by typing it out?</p>