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c#garbage-collectiondispose

Win32.DestroyIcon vs. Icon.Dispose

I have this line of code:

System.Drawing.Icon icon = System.Drawing.Icon.FromHandle(shinfo.hIcon);

A few lines later, after icon is used I have the line:

Win32.DestroyIcon(shinfo.hIcon);

However when running a static analysis on my code it says there is a potential for Resource_Leak from icon. I am wondering will it make any difference if I call the dispose method:

icon.Dispose();

rather than the Win32.DestroyIcon() that is being used right now. Is there any difference between them? I am just maintaining this code so I am not sure if there was any special intnetion by the original developer to use Win32.DestroyIcon.

Solution

  • The static analysis is triggering because you aren't disposing the "IDisposable resource".

    I would recommend sticking to the managed version throughout, and using icon.Dispose(). This will (internally) take care of calling DestroyIcon for you, but stick to the pure managed API throughout.

    Win32.DestroyIcon is really intended more for use with icons you're receiving as an IntPtr, not for use with an Icon instance that is managed by the framework entirely.