C# Garbage Collection: A Closer Look at Memory Management

Derry Ross
3 min readJan 18, 2023

The garbage collector in C# is a powerful tool that helps developers manage the memory used by their applications. In this post, we will explore the basics of the garbage collector, how it works, and how to use it effectively in C#.

The garbage collector is a built-in feature of the .NET framework that automatically manages the memory used by an application. It is responsible for freeing up memory that is no longer being used by the application, and it does this by periodically scanning the heap (the area of memory where objects are stored) for objects that are no longer in use.

When the garbage collector runs, it performs a mark-and-sweep operation. During the mark phase, it identifies all objects that are still in use by the application, and during the sweep phase, it frees up memory for objects that are no longer in use. This process is done in a managed and efficient way, which allows for more predictable performance and less chance of errors, such as memory leaks.

One of the key benefits of the garbage collector is that it eliminates the need for developers to manually manage memory. This means that developers can focus on writing code, rather than worrying about memory management. Additionally, the garbage collector helps to ensure that applications are more stable and perform better, as…

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Derry Ross

I am an experienced, skilled programmer and computer scientist with proficiency in multiple languages, technologies, and expertise in data science.