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What is the difference between Dispose() and Finalize()?

Anubhav Sharma 398 19 Jun 2025

What is the difference between Dispose() and Finalize()?

c# c#
Updated 24 Jun 2025
Anubhav Sharma
Anubhav Sharma

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The Anubhav portal was launched in March 2015 at the behest of the Hon'ble Prime Minister for retiring government officials to leave a record of their experiences while in Govt service .

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1 Answers

Ponu Maurya
Ponu Maurya 24 Jun 2025
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In C#, Dispose() and Finalize() are both used to release unmanaged resources (like file handles, database connections, etc.), but they are used in different ways and serve different purposes.

Dispose() (IDisposable Interface)

  • Explicit cleanup method.
  • Called manually by the developer to release unmanaged resources.
  • Belongs to the IDisposable interface.
  • Often used in a using block, which automatically calls Dispose().
public class Resource : IDisposable
{
    private FileStream _file;

    public Resource(string path)
    {
        _file = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open);
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        _file?.Dispose();  // Free unmanaged resource
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this); // Optional: tells GC not to call Finalize
    }
}

Use when: You want to explicitly and deterministically release resources.

Finalize() (Destructor)

  • Called by the Garbage Collector (GC) when the object is no longer in use.
  • Cannot be called directly — handled automatically by the CLR.
  • Used as a safety net in case Dispose() wasn’t called.
  • Implemented via a destructor (~ClassName() in C#).
public class Resource
{
    ~Resource()
    {
        // Cleanup logic
    }
}

Drawbacks:

  • Runs on GC, so timing is non-deterministic.
  • Expensive: keeps object in memory longer (until finalization).

Best Practice: Use Dispose() and Suppress Finalize

public class Resource : IDisposable
{
    private bool _disposed = false;

    ~Resource()
    {
        Dispose(false);
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        Dispose(true);
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this); // Skip finalizer
    }

    protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (!_disposed)
        {
            if (disposing)
            {
                // Dispose managed resources
            }
            // Dispose unmanaged resources

            _disposed = true;
        }
    }
}

Summary Table

Feature Dispose() Finalize() (Destructor)
Called by Developer (explicit) GC (implicit)
Timing Deterministic Non-deterministic
Interface Implements IDisposable Implicit via ~ClassName()
Performance Efficient Slower (GC + finalizer queue)
Use case Close files, DB, streams Safety net for unmanaged cleanup
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