PetaPoco.Database implements IDisposable, so why don't most examples have a 'using' statement?

Question

The PetaPoco.Database object implements IDisposable but I rarely if ever see code samples (including on PetaPoco's own website) that include a using statement as follows:

using (var db = new Database("MyConnectionString"))
{
    // Do database stuff
}

Most often I simply see:

var db = new Database("MyConnectionString");
// Do database stuff
// I never see .Dispose() called.

How should PetaPoco.Database objects actually be handed?

Answer 1

As a simple rule: if a class implements IDisposable then go ahead and wrap it in a using. They may not actually be using any unmanaged resources, but it won't hurt and might future-proof you against changes.

Answer 2

PetaPoco maintainer here. Dispose is the same as calling CloseSharedConnection(). However, c# syntax only supports using(...) with IDisposable. For instance IDBConnection, from memory, supports both Close and Dispose.

Basically, it boils down to choice

Example 1

using(var db = new PetaPoco()) 
{
    // some code
}

Example 2

var db = new PetaPoco()

try 
{
    // code
}
finally 
{
    db.CloseSharedConnection();
}