What is the purpose of :: in C#?

c#, syntax

Solution

It's the namespace alias qualifier operator. Citing from the linked-to MSDN page:

The namespace alias qualifier (`::`) is used to look up identifiers. It is always positioned between two identifiers, as in this example:

global::System.Console.WriteLine("Hello World");

Problem

I have seen double colons (`::`) in generated code. I was wondering what its purpose is?

Original source