When should I implement IDisposable?

c# .net vb.net idisposable
Bobby picture Bobby · Mar 12, 2010 · Viewed 16.1k times · Source

What is the best practice for when to implement IDisposable?

Is the best rule of thumb to implement it if you have one managed object in the class, or does it depend if the object was created in the class or just passed in? Should I also do it for classes with no managed objects at all?

Answer

peppy picture peppy · Mar 12, 2010

If you mean unmanaged objects then yes, you should be implementing it whenever you have one or more unmanaged resource you are handling in your class. You should also be using the pattern when you are possibly holding on to objects that are IDisposable themselves, and make sure to dispose of them when your class is disposed.

(agreed that this question has already been asked enough times as to run a small printer out of ink should they be printed...)

Related questions

Using statement vs. IDisposable.Dispose()

It has been my understanding that the using statement in .NET calls an IDisposable object's Dispose() method once the code exits the block. Does the using statement do anything else? If not, it would seem that the following two code …

Read More
What is a NullReferenceException, and how do I fix it?

I have some code and when it executes, it throws a NullReferenceException, saying: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. What does this mean, and what can I do to fix this error?

Read More
Why is Dictionary preferred over Hashtable in C#?

In most programming languages, dictionaries are preferred over hashtables. What are the reasons behind that?

Read More