Question

Should I be using the using keyword or a dispose method with the following code (since I am opening a stream):

 class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var x = Deserialize<Dog>(new FileStream(@"C:\Documents and Settings\name\Desktop\demo.xml", FileMode.Open));
         }

        static T Deserialize<T>(Stream s)
        {
            XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
            return (T)ser.Deserialize(s);
        }
    }

If not, can you please explain why not (does a new FileStream automatically dispose/close the stream)?

Answer 1

You should be using using:

using(var stream = new FileStream(@"C:\path\demo.xml", FileMode.Open))
{
    var x = Deserialize<Dog>(stream);
    // more code ...
}