How do you read data from a Performance Counter in C#?

Reading data from a Performance Counter in C# is accomplished using the PerformanceCounter class. This class is specifically designed to interact with the system's performance data, allowing developers to access various performance metrics provided by the operating system and applications.

When you create an instance of the PerformanceCounter class, you specify the category of the counter, the specific counter you wish to read, and optionally, a specific instance of that counter. This enables you to gather relevant performance data dynamically while the application is running, such as CPU usage, memory usage, and other system resources.

Utilizing this class provides a straightforward and effective interface for monitoring the performance of applications and system resources, making it the appropriate choice for accessing performance counter data in C#. Other options, such as StreamReader, FileStream, and Console.WriteLine, are not designed for this purpose – they serve different roles in file handling and outputting text to the console, respectively. This reinforces why the PerformanceCounter class is the correct method for reading performance data in C#.