Garbage Collection on one object, C#

Question

I need to dispose of an object so it can release everything it owns, but it doesn\'t implement the IDisposable so I can\'t use it in a using block. How can I make the garbag

Answer 1

You can't perform garbage collection on a single object. You could request a garbage collection by calling GC.Collect() but this will effect all objects subject to cleanup. It is also highly discouraged as it can have a negative effect on the performance of later collections.

Also, calling Dispose on an object does not clean up it's memory. It only allows the object to remove references to unmanaged resources. For example, calling Dispose on a StreamWriter closes the stream and releases the Windows file handle. The memory for the object on the managed heap does not get reclaimed until a subsequent garbage collection.

Chris Sells also discussed this on .NET Rocks. I think it was during his first appearance but the subject might have been revisited in later interviews.

http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showNum=10

This article by Francesco Balena is also a good reference:

When and How to Use Dispose and Finalize in C# http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/33167/0/page/1