Destructor

In the C# language a destructor runs after a class becomes unreachable. It has the special "~" character in its name.

The exact time a destructor is executed is not specified. But it always runs when the class is not reachable in memory by any references.

Example

Let us begin by looking at this Example class. It contains a constructor "Example()" and also a destructor "~Example()".

using System;

class Example
{
    public Example()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Constructor");
    }

    ~Example()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Destructor");
    }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Example x = new Example();
    }
}
Constructor
Destructor

Discussion

We next reference the C# specification. The destructor can be run at any time after the class instance becomes unreachable (such as when it goes out of scope).

Destructors versus IDisposable

Destructors have simpler syntax and don't require the using syntax. Most actions needed at type destruction are system cleanup tasks.

We examined destructor syntax, and compared destructors to the using-dispose pattern. Destructors are rarely needed in C# programs.