Although the .NET framework frees managed memory and resources transparently, it’s not as adept at freeing unmanaged resources; you have to help it out by implementing the Dispose and Finalize patterns in your code. When the .NET framework instantiates an object, it allocates memory for that object on the managed heap. The object remains on the heap until it’s no longer referenced by any active code, at which point the memory it’s using is “garbage,” ready for memory deallocation by the .NET Garbage Collector (GC). Before the GC deallocates the memory, the framework calls the object’s Finalize() method, but developers are responsible for calling the Dispose() method.
The two methods are not equivalent. Even though both methods perform object clean-up, there are distinct differences between them. To design efficient .NET applications, it’s essential that you have a proper understanding of both how the .NET framework cleans up objects and when and how to use the Finalize and Dispose methods. This article discusses both methods and provides code examples and tips on how and when to use them.
Although the .NET framework frees managed memory and resources transparently, it’s not as adept at freeing unmanaged resources; you have to help it out by implementing the Dispose and Finalize patterns in your code. When the .NET framework instantiates an object, it allocates memory for that object on the managed heap. The object remains on the heap until it’s no longer referenced by any active code, at which point the memory it’s using is “garbage,” ready for memory deallocation by the .NET Garbage Collector (GC). Before the GC deallocates the memory, the framework calls the object’s Finalize() method, but developers are responsible for calling the Dispose() method.
The two methods are not equivalent. Even though both methods perform object clean-up, there are distinct differences between them. To design efficient .NET applications, it’s essential that you have a proper understanding of both how the .NET framework cleans up objects and when and how to use the Finalize and Dispose methods. This article discusses both methods and provides code examples and tips on how and when to use them. […]