dirtydozen

IX. Not using “using”

Who is destroying it then?

Certain programmatic operations, such as reading files or making HTTP API calls over the network would require you to instantiate objects in order to achieve it. As with everything in programming, these objects or variables will require memory to function properly.

For example consider the following HttpClient() call:

var client = new HttpClient();
var response = await client.GetAsync("https://my.api.com");

Problem Statement

The code above will work as expected, we’ll issue API call and get our response back. Where problems would normally arise is when we have so many of these client objects span up to the point where our host has no memory left to accommodate these.

This is also known as Memory Leak whereby your application slows down or eventually stops working if enough memory is not released back.

Solution

Modern programming languages and frameworks allow programmers to ensure objects are destroyed and memory is released properly as soon as a particular piece of code finishes execution. The process is also known as Garbage Collection (GC).

Let’s now consider revised examples introducing the using construct.

Example 1 - Encapsulating code inside using block

using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
    var response = await httpClient.GetAsync("https://my.api.com");
}

Example 2 - Compact version of using

using var client = new HttpClient();
var response = await client.GetAsync("https://my.api.com");

Summary

You don’t have to write any special code these days in order to ensure your objects are properly destroyed, this is taken care of by your chosen language and its framework.

Using the using is as straightforward as typing using so no excuse really should be made for not using it...