Does *every* Excel interop object need to be released using Marshal.ReleaseComObject?

Question

Edit

Please see also How do I properly clean up Excel interop objects?. I recently came across this question, and it provided a lot of insight into the problem of how to properly dispose of COM objects. Definitely check beyond the first (marked) answer, because the other answers go beyond the simple "don't use two dots" and "use ReleaseComObject for every com object" advice.

I revisited this question in the first place because I realized that, despite being very thorough about registering and disposing all my COM objects, my Excel instances still weren't being properly disposed. It turns out, there are ways COM objects can be created that are completely non-obvious (i.e., you can miss COM objects even if you never use two dots). In addition, even if you are thorough, if your project grows beyond a certain size, the chance of missing a COM object approaches 100%. And it can be very hard to find the one you missed when that happens. The answers to the question linked above provide some other techniques for making sure the Excel instance definitely gets closed. Meanwhile, I've made a small (but significant) update to my ComObjectManager (below) to reflect what I learned from the question linked above.

Original Question

I've seen several examples where Marshal.ReleaseComObject() is used with Excel Interop objects (i.e., objects from namespace Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel), but I've seen it used to various degrees.

I'm wondering if I can get away with something like this:

var application = new ApplicationClass();
try
{
    // do work with application, workbooks, worksheets, cells, etc.
}
finally
{
    Marashal.ReleaseComObject(application)
}

Or if I need to release every single object created, as in this method:

public void CreateExcelWorkbookWithSingleSheet()
{
    var application = new ApplicationClass();
    var workbook = application.Workbooks.Add(_missing);
    var worksheets = workbook.Worksheets;
    for (var worksheetIndex = 1; worksheetIndex < worksheets.Count; worksheetIndex++)
    {
        var worksheet = (WorksheetClass)worksheets[worksheetIndex];
        worksheet.Delete();
        Marshal.ReleaseComObject(worksheet);
    }
    workbook.SaveAs(
        WorkbookPath, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing,
        XlSaveAsAccessMode.xlExclusive, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing);
    workbook.Close(true, _missing, _missing);
    application.Quit();
    Marshal.ReleaseComObject(worksheets);
    Marshal.ReleaseComObject(workbook);
    Marshal.ReleaseComObject(application);
}

What prompted me to ask this question is that, being the LINQ devotee I am, I really want to do something like this:

var worksheetNames = worksheets.Cast<Worksheet>().Select(ws => ws.Name);

...but I'm concerned I'll end up with memory leaks or ghost processes if I don't release each worksheet (ws) object.

Any insight on this would be appreciated.

Update

Based on the answers so far, it sounds like I really do need to release every single com object I create. I took the opportunity to build a ComObjectManager class to make it a little easier to deal with this headache. You have to remember to use the Get() method each time you instantiate a new com object, but if you do, it will take care of everything else for you. Please let me know if you see any problems with it (or edit and leave a comment if you are able). Here's the code:

public class ComObjectManager : IDisposable
{
    private Stack<object> _comObjects = new Stack<object>();

    public TComObject Get<TComObject>(Func<TComObject> getter)
    {
        var comObject = getter();
        _comObjects.Push(comObject);
        return comObject;
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        // these two lines of code will dispose of any unreferenced COM objects
        GC.Collect();
        GC.WaitForPendingFinalizers();

        while (_comObjects.Count > 0)
            Marshal.ReleaseComObject(_comObjects.Pop());
    }
}

Here's a usage example:

public void CreateExcelWorkbookWithSingleSheet()
{
    using (var com = new ComObjectManager())
    {
        var application = com.Get<ApplicationClass>(() => new ApplicationClass());
        var workbook = com.Get<Workbook>(() => application.Workbooks.Add(_missing));
        var worksheets = com.Get<Sheets>(() => workbook.Worksheets);
        for (var worksheetIndex = 1; worksheetIndex < worksheets.Count; worksheetIndex++)
        {
            var worksheet = com.Get<WorksheetClass>(() => (WorksheetClass)worksheets[worksheetIndex]);
            worksheet.Delete();
        }
        workbook.SaveAs(
            WorkbookPath, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing,
            XlSaveAsAccessMode.xlExclusive, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing, _missing);
        workbook.Close(true, _missing, _missing);
        application.Quit();
    }
}

Answer 1

I believe you would have to call ReleaseComObject on each COM object. Since they're not garbage-collected, the parent-child hierarchy doesn't really come into the equation: even if you release the parent object it does not decrement the reference count on any child objects.

Answer 2

You should call Marshal.ReleaseComObject on every COM object you use in your code, not just the main application object.

Answer 3

No. You don't have to release a single COM object. See this answer: Clean up Excel Interop Objects with IDisposable

To sum up the answer: The garbage collector will take care of them when it feels like it except if your program crash. What you need to be aware is:

1. Running your app in DEBUG mode might delay/prevent the cleanup of COM object.
2. Stopping the debugger (from within visual studio) will prevent the clean up of COM object. It is as if you crashed the app.
3. If you close the debugged app properly, you will see that all COM objects are released. Also, running your app in Release mode and closing it properly will also release all COM objects.

Now if you want to release all COM object right after your method call ended, then you can Simply call GC.Collect(); GC.WaitForPendingFinalizers();

But you need to call this OUTSIDE the method who created the COM object. Again, this might not work as expected if you are debugging the app but it will work in Release mode.