Closing StreamReader after ReadToEnd

11,354

Solution 1

I think the method you're really after is File.ReadAllText, if you're just trying to read all the text from a file in the shortest possible code.

If you don't specify the encoding, it will use UTF-8 automatically.

Solution 2

You could use a using statement, which automatically closes the stream:

string s = null;    
using ( StreamReader reader = new StreamReader( "filename", Encoding.UTF8 ) { s = reader.ReadToEnd(); }

Solution 3

No there isn't but it's always a good practice to use dispose objects who inherit form IDisposable. If you don't do this in a loop you will get memory leaks

string s = string.Empty;
using(StreamReader sr = new StreamReader("filename", Encoding.UTF8))
{
  s = sr.ReadToEnd();
}
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11,354
Alexander Prokofyev
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Alexander Prokofyev

Data Scientist, married, have a daughter and two sons.

Updated on June 26, 2022

Comments

  • Alexander Prokofyev
    Alexander Prokofyev over 1 year

    Is it possible somehow to close StreamReader after calling ReadToEnd method in construction like this:

    string s = new StreamReader("filename", Encoding.UTF8).ReadToEnd();
    

    Any alternative elegant construction with the same semantics will be also accepted.

  • Alexander Prokofyev
    Alexander Prokofyev about 15 years
    I do it this way now, but hope what there is a shorter solution without explicit declaration of StreamReader variable.
  • Jon Skeet
    Jon Skeet about 15 years
    There's no need or point in calling Close as well as Dispose. Just putting it in a using statement is enough.
  • JSC
    JSC about 15 years
    I agree but the all the developers must know that expensive objects must be closed & disposed if you're not using it anymore.
  • raju
    raju about 15 years
    @jon-skeet's answer is the way to go
  • Jon Skeet
    Jon Skeet about 15 years
    No, they need to be closed or disposed. Adding a call to Close like that just adds clutter. Furthermore, if it were required, you'd have to put it in a finally block anyway.
  • JSC
    JSC about 15 years
    Ok you should not close explicitly, but I think you should always(if possible) use the using statement for objects who inherit from IDisposable. Or am I incorrect?
  • Jon Skeet
    Jon Skeet about 15 years
    No, that's fine - the using statement is good, the call to Close is unnecessary fluff. I'll edit the answer for you. (I can't remember offhand how much rep you need to edit your own answers.)
  • Jon Skeet
    Jon Skeet about 15 years
    (I'd also personally not set a value for s, given that it will be overwritten in every situation except where an exception is thrown.)