.netidisposableienumerator

IEnumerator: Is it normal to have an empty Dispose method?


I'm writing an IEnumerator<T> class to iterate over a COM collection I'm wrappering. I've noticed that IEnumerator<T> extends IDisposable, so I'm required to implement the Dispose method.

However, I can't think of anything I would put there, as I only have a reference to the collection (which I wouldn't want being disposed at the end of a foreach), and an int for the index. Is it normal to leave the Dispose method empty?


Solution

  • Yes, it is.

    IEnumerator<T> implements IDisposable in case you make an enumerator that does need to be disposed. Since most enumerators don't need to be disposed, the method will usually be empty.

    By the way, you can implement your IEnumerator more easily by creating an iterator.