GC.Collect Method (Int32) (System)

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.NET Framework Class Library
GC.Collect Method (Int32)

Forces an immediate garbage collection from generation zero through a specified generation.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
Visual Basic
Public Shared Sub Collect ( _
	generation As Integer _
)
C#
public static void Collect(
	int generation
)
Visual C++
public:
static void Collect(
	int generation
)
F#
static member Collect : 
        generation:int -> unit

Parameters

generation
Type: System.Int32
The number of the oldest generation that garbage collection can be performed on.
Exceptions
Exception Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

generation is not valid.

Remarks

Use this method to try to reclaim memory that is inaccessible. However, using this method does not guarantee that all inaccessible memory in the specified generation is reclaimed.

If object aging is implemented, the garbage collector does not collect objects with a generation number that is higher than the specified generation. If object aging is not implemented, the garbage collector considers all objects during the garbage collection.

Use the MaxGeneration property to determine the maximum valid value of the generation parameter.

To have the garbage collector consider all objects regardless of their generation, use the version of this method that takes no parameters. To have the garbage collector reclaim objects based on a GCCollectionMode setting, use the GC.Collect(Int32, GCCollectionMode) method overload.

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to use the Collect method to perform a collection on individual layers of memory. The code generates a number of unused objects, and then calls the Collect method to clean them from memory.

Visual Basic

Imports System

Namespace GCCollectInt_Example
    Class MyGCCollectClass
        Private maxGarbage As Long = 10000

        Public Shared Sub Main()
            Dim myGCCol As New MyGCCollectClass

            'Determine the maximum number of generations the system
            'garbage collector currently supports.
            Console.WriteLine("The highest generation is {0}", GC.MaxGeneration)

            myGCCol.MakeSomeGarbage()

            'Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol))

            'Determine the best available approximation of the number 
            'of bytes currently allocated in managed memory.
            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(False))

            'Perform a collection of generation 0 only.
            GC.Collect(0)

            'Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol))

            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(False))

            'Perform a collection of all generations up to and including 2.
            GC.Collect(2)

            'Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol))
            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(False))
            Console.Read()

        End Sub


        Sub MakeSomeGarbage()
            Dim vt As Version

            Dim i As Integer
            For i = 0 To maxGarbage - 1
                'Create objects and release them to fill up memory
                'with unused objects.
                vt = New Version
            Next i
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace
C#

using System;

namespace GCCollectIntExample
{
    class MyGCCollectClass
    {
        private const long maxGarbage = 1000;

        static void Main()
        {
            MyGCCollectClass myGCCol = new MyGCCollectClass();

            // Determine the maximum number of generations the system
	    // garbage collector currently supports.
            Console.WriteLine("The highest generation is {0}", GC.MaxGeneration);

            myGCCol.MakeSomeGarbage();

            // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol));

            // Determine the best available approximation of the number 
	    // of bytes currently allocated in managed memory.
            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(false));

            // Perform a collection of generation 0 only.
            GC.Collect(0);

            // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol));

            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(false));

            // Perform a collection of all generations up to and including 2.
            GC.Collect(2);

            // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
            Console.WriteLine("Generation: {0}", GC.GetGeneration(myGCCol));
            Console.WriteLine("Total Memory: {0}", GC.GetTotalMemory(false));
            Console.Read();
        }

        void MakeSomeGarbage()
        {
            Version vt;

            for(int i = 0; i < maxGarbage; i++)
            {
                // Create objects and release them to fill up memory
		// with unused objects.
                vt = new Version();
            }
        }
    }
}
Visual C++

using namespace System;
const long maxGarbage = 1000;
ref class MyGCCollectClass
{
public:
   void MakeSomeGarbage()
   {
      Version^ vt;
      for ( int i = 0; i < maxGarbage; i++ )
      {

         // Create objects and release them to fill up memory
         // with unused objects.
         vt = gcnew Version;

      }
   }

};

int main()
{
   MyGCCollectClass^ myGCCol = gcnew MyGCCollectClass;

   // Determine the maximum number of generations the system
   // garbage collector currently supports.
   Console::WriteLine( "The highest generation is {0}", GC::MaxGeneration );
   myGCCol->MakeSomeGarbage();

   // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
   Console::WriteLine( "Generation: {0}", GC::GetGeneration( myGCCol ) );

   // Determine the best available approximation of the number
   // of bytes currently allocated in managed memory.
   Console::WriteLine( "Total Memory: {0}", GC::GetTotalMemory( false ) );

   // Perform a collection of generation 0 only.
   GC::Collect( 0 );

   // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
   Console::WriteLine( "Generation: {0}", GC::GetGeneration( myGCCol ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "Total Memory: {0}", GC::GetTotalMemory( false ) );

   // Perform a collection of all generations up to and including 2.
   GC::Collect( 2 );

   // Determine which generation myGCCol object is stored in.
   Console::WriteLine( "Generation: {0}", GC::GetGeneration( myGCCol ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "Total Memory: {0}", GC::GetTotalMemory( false ) );
}
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
See Also

Reference

GC Class
Collect Overload
System Namespace

Other Resources

Induced Collections