Question

What is better, the using directive, or the dispose directive when finished with an object?

 using(FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(
            "logs/myapp.log",
            FileMode.Open,
            FileAccess.Read,
            FileShare.ReadWrite))
        {
            using(StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(fileStream))
            {
                this.textBoxLogs.Text = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
            }
        }

On the other hand, when I’m dealing with System.Net.Mail, I’m told I need to Dispose() of the object to release any stray locks.

Is there any consistent guidance? How do I tell what is more appropriate in a given situation for a given object?

Answer 1

There’s no reason that I can think of to manually call Dispose(), other than in another implementation of Dispose() (for example in a class you’ve created that implements IDisposable) when you can wrap an object in a using block. The using block puts the creation and disposal of the object in a try/catch/finally block to pretty much gaurantee that the object will be disposed of correctly.

The compiler is more reliable than me. Or you. =)

MSDN documents the using statement and calls out where you can obtain the C# language specification where you can review section 8.13 “The using statement” (at least in the v4.0 reference it’s 8.13) that gives a comprehensive explanation of the using statement and how to use it. The fifth paragraph gives the following:

A using statement is translated into
three parts: acquisition, usage, and
disposal. Usage of the resource is
implicitly enclosed in a try statement
that includes a finally clause. This
finally clause disposes of the
resource. If a null resource is
acquired, then no call to Dispose is
made, and no exception is thrown.