Bits of .NET

🧹 using var x = new MyRefStruct();

Ref structs couldn’t implement interfaces. C# 8 allows ref structs to implement IDisposable. Use ‘using’ with stack-only types.

📝 Disposable Ref Struct

public ref struct FileHandle
{
    private IntPtr _handle;
    
    public FileHandle(string path)
    {
        _handle = OpenFile(path);
    }
    
    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (_handle != IntPtr.Zero)
        {
            CloseFile(_handle);
            _handle = IntPtr.Zero;
        }
    }
}

// Usage
using var handle = new FileHandle("data.bin");
// handle automatically disposed at end of scope

🎯 Using with Span

public ref struct BufferScope
{
    private Span<byte> _buffer;
    private bool _disposed;
    
    public BufferScope(int size)
    {
        _buffer = new Span<byte>(new byte[size]);
    }
    
    public Span<byte> Buffer => _buffer;
    
    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (!_disposed)
        {
            // Clear sensitive data
            _buffer.Clear();
            _disposed = true;
        }
    }
}

// Usage
using var buffer = new BufferScope(1024);
ProcessData(buffer.Buffer);
// Buffer cleared automatically

💡 Benefits

• Stack-only allocation (no heap)
• Deterministic cleanup with using
• Zero GC pressure
• Perfect for native resources, temporary buffers