What is the difference between a destructor and a finalizer?

[Taylor D]

I am fresher(beginner programmer) in the Java programming world. And i am also learning other programming language like C++, C sharp, Visual Basic 6, DBMS and PHP. Actually i have gone through lessons of destructor and finalizer. And now i am confused that what is difference between them(i.e destructor and finalizer). Please somebody give knowledge about this.

[Praetor]

The destructor and finalizer are function which are also used in C sharp as well as Java also. The finalizer's are consider as not deterministic, while a destructor's are consider as deterministic. The destructor will run when the program will explicitly frees the object. A finalizer, by contrast, is executed when the internal garbage collection system frees the object. In this way, both destructor and finalizer differs from each other.

[Katty]

According to me, the destructor as well as finalizer are the mechanisms which is used for cleaning up a resource when they are no longer in the use. I was also thinking that there is no difference between both of them, until my professor explain me about it. My professor told me, that destructor is mainly used to mean a deterministically-invoked cleanup, whereas a finalizer runs when the garbage collector says it to run.

[kelfro]

My knowledge about programming language says that the destructor's is mainly used or invoke after it is called by programmer. In other words, if the programmer will forget to call destructor, then variable lives in the memory and is not destroyed. But the finalize method is invoke/run by itself. Finalizers are not deterministic and destructor are deterministic. Hope you will be able to understand the destructor and finalize method.

[Zecho]

Mostly all the new programmer will feel that the destructor and finalizer works(operates) in same manner, but no its not like that. I would say that the only difference that can be known between the destructor and finalizer is that the destructor's are mainly used for cleanup methods which will be invoke deterministically, and whereas finalizers will be running when the garbage collector tells them to run. Hope you will be able to understand my points.

[Modifier]

I think this(i.e destructor and finalizer) are mechanism used for cleaning up the resource which are no longer in use by the program. But both the mechanism are very different from each other. The destructor is used as deterministically invoked cleanup and on the other side the finalizer will run or used when the garbage collector says to run it. In other words, the finalizer will be invoke by itself only, and destructor will be invoke after it is called by programmer. Hope your problem is fix.