ReadToEndAsync

ReadToEndAsync is an asynchronous method defined on the TextReader class and implemented by derived classes such as StreamReader. It reads all characters from the current position to the end of the underlying stream and returns them as a string, performing I/O without blocking the calling thread when awaited.

Signature and behavior: public override Task<string> ReadToEndAsync() is the typical form found on StreamReader and similar implementations. It buffers data and uses asynchronous I/O operations to avoid blocking. If the end of the stream is reached, it returns the accumulated string, which may be empty if no characters remain. The method can throw exceptions such as ObjectDisposedException if the reader or its underlying stream has been disposed, or IOException for I/O errors.

Usage considerations: Use ReadToEndAsync within asynchronous methods, for example by awaiting the call to obtain the full content as a string. Place the reader in a using block or otherwise ensure proper disposal to release resources. Reading the entire remainder of a stream can consume a large amount of memory for big files, so it may be preferable to read in chunks or use line-based reading (such as ReadLineAsync) for very large inputs or streaming scenarios. The resulting string uses the encoding configured for the reader, such as the Encoding property on StreamReader.

Comparison and alternatives: ReadToEndAsync is the asynchronous counterpart to ReadToEnd. It does not take a cancellation parameter; cancellation must be managed externally if required. For line-by-line processing, ReadLineAsync provides an alternative approach.