Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) Certification Practice Test

How can you prevent the Garbage Collector from calling a Finalizer?

1. Use GC.SuppressFinalize(this);

2. Use GC.StopFinalizer(this);

3. Use GC.IgnoreFinalize();

4. Use GC.TerminateFinalizer();

The correct answer is: Use GC.SuppressFinalize(this);

Using GC.SuppressFinalize(this); is the correct approach for preventing the Garbage Collector from calling a finalizer on an object. When you invoke this method within a finalizer, it informs the garbage collector that the finalizer no longer needs to be called for that specific object instance because its resources have already been released or cleaned up. Finalizers are intended to clean up unmanaged resources before an object is reclaimed by the garbage collector. However, if you know that an object has already been adequately cleaned up and doesn't need the finalizer, calling GC.SuppressFinalize(this); optimizes resource management by preventing unnecessary finalization overhead. This can lead to performance improvements and more efficient garbage collection since the finalizer queue doesn’t have to process the object. The other options do not accurately reflect methods provided by the Garbage Collector to manage finalizers. They do not exist in the .NET Framework and thus would not be applicable for suppressing finalization. Understanding how and when to use GC.SuppressFinalize is critical in scenarios where manual resource management is necessary, especially in applications that handle unmanaged resources.