Proper IntPtr use in C#

Question

I think I understand the use of IntPtr, though I\'m really not sure.

I copied the IDisposable pattern from MSDN just to see what I could get from it, and w

Answer 1

An IntPtr is only a value type which size matches the size of a pointer on the target platform. You need to use it mainly when dealing with unmanaged pointers. An IntPtr itself cannot be disposed, because it only represents a location in memory. Your cleanup needs to be specific to the object referred to by the IntPtr. Say you have an unmanaged function that needs a window handle to do its work. In this case you can use the property Control.Handle to get a pointer to the window handle of the control. To properly cleanup the control and its underlying window you do not have to take care of the IntPtr refering to the unmanaged handle, but instead dispose the control.

[DllImport("UnmanagedLibrary.dll")]
private static void DoSomethingWithWindowHandle(IntPtr windowHandle);

private void Foo()
{
    Form form = new Form();
    // ...
    DoSomethingWithWindowHandle(form.Handle);
    // ...
    form.Dispose();
}