What is the difference between Finalizer and Dispose in C#?

What is the difference between Finalizer and Dispose in C#?

In C#, a Finalizer is a method that is called by the garbage collector when an object is no longer in use, while Dispose is a method that you call explicitly to release unmanaged resources.

When should I use Dispose instead of relying on Finalizer?

You should use Dispose when you want to release resources deterministically, as Finalizers are non-deterministic and may not run immediately.

Can you give an example of how to implement Dispose?

Sure! You can implement IDisposable interface and define the Dispose method to clean up resources. Here's a simple example:

public class MyClass : IDisposable
{
    private bool disposed = false;

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

    protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (!disposed)
        {
            if (disposing)
            {
                // free managed resources
            }
            // free unmanaged resources
            disposed = true;
        }
    }

    ~MyClass()
    {
        Dispose(false);
    }
}

What happens if I forget to call Dispose?

If you forget to call Dispose, unmanaged resources may not be released promptly, leading to memory leaks and resource exhaustion.