Smart Dispose method using Generics

Sample on how to create a Dispose function that will first check if the object is defined before attempting to dispose it.
Passing the object to a method:

static public void SafeDispose(ref T objCleanUp) where T : IDisposable
{
   if (objCleanUp != null)
   {
      objCleanUp.Dispose();
      //objCleanUp = default(T);  // actually, don't do this.
   }
}

Use of an extension method:

static public void SafeDispose(this T objCleanUp) where T : IDisposable
{
   if (objCleanUp != null)
   {
      objCleanUp.Dispose();
      //objCleanUp = default(T);  // actually, don't do this.
   }
}

In both of these examples, setting the objCleanUp variable to NULL will not work. You'll get an error.
Setting it to 'default(T)' will work, however, it'll also create a new instance of the object. Not exactly what we're looking for here.
So, set the variable to NULL immediately after the call to SafeDispose().

Note: This method is obsolete. The '?' operator can be used instead:

objCleanup?.Dispose();
objCleanup = null;

The '?' operator will cause the Dispose() function call to not fail if 'objCleanup' is null.

Last modified by Mohit @ 4/4/2025 8:53:03 AM