MemoryStream.Close() or MemoryStream.Dispose()

Question

Which one do I call?

Is it necessary to call both?

Will the other throw an exception if I have already called one of them?

Answer 1

You can use the using block for this. It will automatically call Dispose when it goes outside of its scope.

Example:

using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
    // Do something with ms..
}
// ms is disposed here

Hope this helped.

Answer 2

Use using block so that your object is disposed if its implements IDisposable interface

Answer 3

In .NET 3.5 (haven't checked other versions), methods are called in the following order when disposing a MemoryStream:

1. Stream.Dispose()
   • simply calls Close
2. Stream.Close()
   • calls Dispose(true), then GC.SuppressFinalize(this)
3. MemoryStream.Dispose(true)
   • sets _isOpen , _writable, and _expandable flags to false
4. Stream.Dispose(true)
   • closes async event if active

Answer 4

Calling only Dispose() will do the trick =)

Answer 5

Which one do I call?

Any of them.

Is it necessary to call both?

No, either one is sufficient.

Will the other throw an exception if I have already called one of them?

No, disposable pattern declares that subsequent calls to Dispose don't cause negative effects.

Answer 6

Calling Close() will internally call Dispose() to release the resources.

See this link for more information: msdn