System.DateTime struct
This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.
Important
Eras in the Japanese calendars are based on the emperor's reign and are therefore expected to change. For example, May 1, 2019 marked the beginning of the Reiwa era in the JapaneseCalendar and JapaneseLunisolarCalendar. Such a change of era affects all applications that use these calendars. For more information and to determine whether your applications are affected, see Handling a new era in the Japanese calendar in .NET. For information on testing your applications on Windows systems to ensure their readiness for the era change, see Prepare your application for the Japanese era change. For features in .NET that support calendars with multiple eras and for best practices when working with calendars that support multiple eras, see Working with eras.
Overview
The DateTime value type represents dates and times with values ranging from 00:00:00 (midnight), January 1, 0001 Anno Domini (Common Era) through 11:59:59 P.M., December 31, 9999 A.D. (C.E.) in the Gregorian calendar.
Time values are measured in 100-nanosecond units called ticks. A particular date is the number of ticks since 12:00 midnight, January 1, 0001 A.D. (C.E.) in the GregorianCalendar calendar. The number excludes ticks that would be added by leap seconds. For example, a ticks value of 31241376000000000L represents the date Friday, January 01, 0100 12:00:00 midnight. A DateTime value is always expressed in the context of an explicit or default calendar.
Note
If you're working with a ticks value that you want to convert to some other time interval, such as minutes or seconds, you should use the TimeSpan.TicksPerDay, TimeSpan.TicksPerHour, TimeSpan.TicksPerMinute, TimeSpan.TicksPerSecond, or TimeSpan.TicksPerMillisecond constant to perform the conversion. For example, to add the number of seconds represented by a specified number of ticks to the Second component of a DateTime value, you can use the expression dateValue.Second + nTicks/Timespan.TicksPerSecond.
You can view the source for the entire set of examples from this article in either Visual Basic, F#, or C#.
Note
An alternative to the DateTime structure for working with date and time values in particular time zones is the DateTimeOffset structure. The DateTimeOffset structure stores date and time information in a private DateTime field and the number of minutes by which that date and time differs from UTC in a private Int16 field. This makes it possible for a DateTimeOffset value to reflect the time in a particular time zone, whereas a DateTime value can unambiguously reflect only UTC and the local time zone's time. For a discussion about when to use the DateTime structure or the DateTimeOffset structure when working with date and time values, see Choosing Between DateTime, DateTimeOffset, TimeSpan, and TimeZoneInfo.
Quick links to example code
Note
Some C# examples in this article run in the Try.NET inline code runner and playground. Select the Run button to run an example in an interactive window. Once you execute the code, you can modify it and run the modified code by selecting Run again. The modified code either runs in the interactive window or, if compilation fails, the interactive window displays all C# compiler error messages.
The local time zone of the Try.NET inline code runner and playground is Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. This may affect the behavior and the output of examples that illustrate the DateTime, DateTimeOffset, and TimeZoneInfo types and their members.
This article includes several examples that use the DateTime type:
Initialization examples
- Invoke a constructor
- Invoke the implicit parameterless constructor
- Assignment from return value
- Parsing a string that represents a date and time
- Visual Basic syntax to initialize a date and time
Format DateTime objects as strings examples
- Use the default date time format
- Format a date and time using a specific culture
- Format a date time using a standard or custom format string
- Specify both a format string and a specific culture
- Format a date time using the ISO 8601 standard for web services
Parse strings as DateTime objects examples
- Use
ParseorTryParseto convert a string to a date and time - Use
ParseExactorTryParseExactto convert a string in a known format - Convert from the ISO 8601 string representation to a date and time
DateTime resolution examples
Culture and calendars examples
- Display date and time values using culture specific calendars
- Parse strings according to a culture specific calendar
- Initialize a date and time from a specific culture's calendar
- Accessing date and time properties using a specific culture's calendar
- Retrieving the week of the year using culture specific calendars
Persistence examples
- Persisting date and time values as strings in the local time zone
- Persisting date and time values as strings in a culture and time invariant format
- Persisting date and time values as integers
- Persisting date and time values using the
XmlSerializer
Initialize a DateTime object
You can assign an initial value to a new DateTime value in many different ways:
- Calling a constructor, either one where you specify arguments for values, or use the implicit parameterless constructor.
- Assigning a
DateTimeto the return value of a property or method. - Parsing a
DateTimevalue from its string representation. - Using Visual Basic-specific language features to instantiate a
DateTime.
The following code snippets show examples of each.
Invoke constructors
You call any of the overloads of the DateTime constructor that specify elements of the date and time value (such as the year, month, and day, or the number of ticks). The following code creates a specific date using the DateTime constructor specifying the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.
Dim date1 As New Date(2008, 5, 1, 8, 30, 52)
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 5, 1, 8, 30, 52);
Console.WriteLine(date1);
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 5, 1, 8, 30, 52)
printfn $"{date1}"
You invoke the DateTime structure's implicit parameterless constructor when you want a DateTime initialized to its default value. (For details on the implicit parameterless constructor of a value type, see Value Types.) Some compilers also support declaring a DateTime value without explicitly assigning a value to it. Creating a value without an explicit initialization also results in the default value. The following example illustrates the DateTime implicit parameterless constructor in C# and Visual Basic, as well as a DateTime declaration without assignment in Visual Basic.
Dim dat1 As DateTime
' The following method call displays 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM.
Console.WriteLine(dat1.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))
' The following method call displays True.
Console.WriteLine(dat1.Equals(Date.MinValue))
Dim dat2 As New DateTime()
' The following method call displays 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM.
Console.WriteLine(dat2.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))
' The following method call displays True.
Console.WriteLine(dat2.Equals(Date.MinValue))
var dat1 = new DateTime();
// The following method call displays 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM.
Console.WriteLine(dat1.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture));
// The following method call displays True.
Console.WriteLine(dat1.Equals(DateTime.MinValue));
let dat1 = DateTime()
// The following method call displays 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM.
printfn $"{dat1.ToString System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture}"
// The following method call displays True.
printfn $"{dat1.Equals DateTime.MinValue}"
Assign a computed value
You can assign the DateTime object a date and time value returned by a property or method. The following example assigns the current date and time, the current Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) date and time, and the current date to three new DateTime variables.
Dim date1 As Date = Date.Now
Dim date2 As Date = Date.UtcNow
Dim date3 As Date = Date.Today
DateTime date1 = DateTime.Now;
DateTime date2 = DateTime.UtcNow;
DateTime date3 = DateTime.Today;
let date1 = DateTime.Now
let date2 = DateTime.UtcNow
let date3 = DateTime.Today
Parse a string that represents a DateTime
The Parse, ParseExact, TryParse, and TryParseExact methods all convert a string to its equivalent date and time value. The following examples use the Parse and ParseExact methods to parse a string and convert it to a DateTime value. The second format uses a form supported by the ISO 8601 standard for a representing date and time in string format. This standard representation is often used to transfer date information in web services.
Dim dateString As String = "5/1/2008 8:30:52 AM"
Dim date1 As Date = Date.Parse(dateString,
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
Dim iso8601String As String = "20080501T08:30:52Z"
Dim dateISO8602 As Date = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ",
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
Console.WriteLine(dateISO8602)
var dateString = "5/1/2008 8:30:52 AM";
DateTime date1 = DateTime.Parse(dateString,
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
var iso8601String = "20080501T08:30:52Z";
DateTime dateISO8602 = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ",
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
let dateString = "5/1/2008 8:30:52 AM"
let date1 = DateTime.Parse(dateString, System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
let iso8601String = "20080501T08:30:52Z"
let dateISO8602 = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
The TryParse and TryParseExact methods indicate whether a string is a valid representation of a DateTime value and, if it is, performs the conversion.
Language-specific syntax for Visual Basic
The following Visual Basic statement initializes a new DateTime value.
Dim date1 As Date = #5/1/2008 8:30:52AM#
DateTime values and their string representations
Internally, all DateTime values are represented as the number of ticks (the number of 100-nanosecond intervals) that have elapsed since 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001. The actual DateTime value is independent of the way in which that value appears when displayed. The appearance of a DateTime value is the result of a formatting operation that converts a value to its string representation.
The appearance of date and time values is dependent on culture, international standards, application requirements, and personal preference. The DateTime structure offers flexibility in formatting date and time values through overloads of ToString. The default DateTime.ToString() method returns the string representation of a date and time value using the current culture's short date and long time pattern. The following example uses the default DateTime.ToString() method. It displays the date and time using the short date and long time pattern for the current culture. The en-US culture is the current culture on the computer on which the example was run.
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString());
// For en-US culture, displays 3/1/2008 7:00:00 AM
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0)
printfn $"{date1.ToString()}"
// For en-US culture, displays 3/1/2008 7:00:00 AM
Dim date1 As Date = #3/1/2008 7:00AM#
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString())
' For en-US culture, displays 3/1/2008 7:00:00 AM
You may need to format dates in a specific culture to support web scenarios where the server may be in a different culture from the client. You specify the culture using the DateTime.ToString(IFormatProvider) method to create the short date and long time representation in a specific culture. The following example uses the DateTime.ToString(IFormatProvider) method to display the date and time using the short date and long time pattern for the fr-FR culture.
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")));
// Displays 01/03/2008 07:00:00
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0)
printfn $"""{date1.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture "fr-FR")}"""
// Displays 01/03/2008 07:00:00
Dim date1 As Date = #3/1/2008 7:00AM#
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")))
' Displays 01/03/2008 07:00:00
Other applications may require different string representations of a date. The DateTime.ToString(String) method returns the string representation defined by a standard or custom format specifier using the formatting conventions of the current culture. The following example uses the DateTime.ToString(String) method to display the full date and time pattern for the en-US culture, the current culture on the computer on which the example was run.
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("F"));
// Displays Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:00:00 AM
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0)
printfn $"""{date1.ToString "F"}"""
// Displays Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:00:00 AM
Dim date1 As Date = #3/1/2008 7:00AM#
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("F"))
' Displays Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:00:00 AM
Finally, you can specify both the culture and the format using the DateTime.ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method. The following example uses the DateTime.ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method to display the full date and time pattern for the fr-FR culture.
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("F", new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("fr-FR")));
// Displays samedi 1 mars 2008 07:00:00
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0)
printfn $"""{date1.ToString("F", new System.Globalization.CultureInfo "fr-FR")}"""
// Displays samedi 1 mars 2008 07:00:00
Dim date1 As Date = #3/1/2008 7:00AM#
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("F", New System.Globalization.CultureInfo("fr-FR")))
' Displays samedi 1 mars 2008 07:00:00
The DateTime.ToString(String) overload can also be used with a custom format string to specify other formats. The following example shows how to format a string using the ISO 8601 standard format often used for web services. The Iso 8601 format does not have a corresponding standard format string.
var date1 = new DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:sszzz", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture));
// Displays 2008-03-01T07:00:00+00:00
let date1 = DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc)
printfn $"""{date1.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:sszzz", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)}"""
// Displays 2008-03-01T07:00:00+00:00
Dim date1 As DateTime = New DateTime(2008, 3, 1, 7, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc)
Console.WriteLine(date1.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:sszzz", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))
' Displays 2008-03-01T07:00:00+00:00
For more information about formatting DateTime values, see Standard Date and Time Format Strings and Custom Date and Time Format Strings.
Parse DateTime values from strings
Parsing converts the string representation of a date and time to a DateTime value. Typically, date and time strings have two different usages in applications:
A date and time takes a variety of forms and reflects the conventions of either the current culture or a specific culture. For example, an application allows a user whose current culture is en-US to input a date value as "12/15/2013" or "December 15, 2013". It allows a user whose current culture is en-gb to input a date value as "15/12/2013" or "15 December 2013."
A date and time is represented in a predefined format. For example, an application serializes a date as "20130103" independently of the culture on which the app is running. An application may require dates be input in the current culture's short date format.
You use the Parse or TryParse method to convert a string from one of the common date and time formats used by a culture to a DateTime value. The following example shows how you can use TryParse to convert date strings in different culture-specific formats to a DateTime value. It changes the current culture to English (United Kingdom) and calls the GetDateTimeFormats() method to generate an array of date and time strings. It then passes each element in the array to the TryParse method. The output from the example shows the parsing method was able to successfully convert each of the culture-specific date and time strings.
System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture =
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");
var date1 = new DateTime(2013, 6, 1, 12, 32, 30);
var badFormats = new List<String>();
Console.WriteLine($"{"Date String",-37} {"Date",-19}\n");
foreach (var dateString in date1.GetDateTimeFormats())
{
DateTime parsedDate;
if (DateTime.TryParse(dateString, out parsedDate))
Console.WriteLine($"{dateString,-37} {DateTime.Parse(dateString),-19}");
else
badFormats.Add(dateString);
}
// Display strings that could not be parsed.
if (badFormats.Count > 0)
{
Console.WriteLine("\nStrings that could not be parsed: ");
foreach (var badFormat in badFormats)
Console.WriteLine($" {badFormat}");
}
// Press "Run" to see the output.
System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <-
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture "en-GB"
let date1 = DateTime(2013, 6, 1, 12, 32, 30)
let badFormats = ResizeArray<String>()
printfn "%-37s %-19s\n" "Date String" "Date"
for dateString in date1.GetDateTimeFormats() do
match DateTime.TryParse dateString with
| true, parsedDate ->
printfn $"%-37s{dateString} %-19O{parsedDate}\n"
| _ ->
badFormats.Add dateString
// Display strings that could not be parsed.
if badFormats.Count > 0 then
printfn "\nStrings that could not be parsed: "
for badFormat in badFormats do
printfn $" {badFormat}"
// Press "Run" to see the output.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB")
Dim date1 As New DateTime(2013, 6, 1, 12, 32, 30)
Dim badFormats As New List(Of String)
Console.WriteLine($"{"Date String",-37} {"Date",-19}")
Console.WriteLine()
For Each dateString As String In date1.GetDateTimeFormats()
Dim parsedDate As DateTime
If DateTime.TryParse(dateString, parsedDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"{dateString,-37} {DateTime.Parse(dateString),-19:g}")
Else
badFormats.Add(dateString)
End If
Next
' Display strings that could not be parsed.
If badFormats.Count > 0 Then
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("Strings that could not be parsed: ")
For Each badFormat In badFormats
Console.WriteLine($" {badFormat}")
Next
End If
' The example displays the following output:
' Date String Date
'
' 01/06/2013 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 01/06/13 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 1/6/13 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 1.6.13 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 2013-06-01 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 01 June 2013 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 1 June 2013 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 01 June 2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01 June 2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01 June 2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01 June 2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1 June 2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1 June 2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1 June 2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1 June 2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01 June 2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01 June 2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01 June 2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01 June 2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1 June 2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1 June 2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1 June 2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1 June 2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/2013 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/2013 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1/6/13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1/6/13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1/6/13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1/6/13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1.6.13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1.6.13 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1.6.13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 1.6.13 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 2013-06-01 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 2013-06-01 12:32 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 2013-06-01 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 2013-06-01 12:32 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:00
' 01/06/2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/2013 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/2013 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01/06/13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1/6/13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1/6/13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1/6/13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1/6/13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1.6.13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1.6.13 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1.6.13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 1.6.13 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01 12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01 12:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 01 June 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 01 June 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' 2013-06-01T12:32:30.0000000 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01T12:32:30.0000000 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:32:30 GMT 01/06/2013 05:32:30
' Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:32:30 GMT 01/06/2013 05:32:30
' 2013-06-01T12:32:30 01/06/2013 12:32:30
' 12:32 22/04/2013 12:32:00
' 12:32 22/04/2013 12:32:00
' 12:32 PM 22/04/2013 12:32:00
' 12:32 PM 22/04/2013 12:32:00
' 12:32:30 22/04/2013 12:32:30
' 12:32:30 22/04/2013 12:32:30
' 12:32:30 PM 22/04/2013 12:32:30
' 12:32:30 PM 22/04/2013 12:32:30
' 2013-06-01 12:32:30Z 01/06/2013 05:32:30
' 01 June 2013 19:32:30 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 01 June 2013 19:32:30 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 01 June 2013 07:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 01 June 2013 7:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 1 June 2013 19:32:30 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 1 June 2013 19:32:30 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 1 June 2013 07:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' 1 June 2013 7:32:30 PM 01/06/2013 19:32:30
' June 2013 01/06/2013 00:00:00
' June 2013 01/06/2013 00:00:00
You use the ParseExact and TryParseExact methods to convert a string that must match a particular format or formats to a DateTime value. You specify one or more date and time format strings as a parameter to the parsing method. The following example uses the TryParseExact(String, String[], IFormatProvider, DateTimeStyles, DateTime) method to convert strings that must be either in a "yyyyMMdd" format or a "HHmmss" format to DateTime values.
string[] formats = { "yyyyMMdd", "HHmmss" };
string[] dateStrings = { "20130816", "20131608", " 20130816 ",
"115216", "521116", " 115216 " };
DateTime parsedDate;
foreach (var dateString in dateStrings)
{
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, formats, null,
System.Globalization.DateTimeStyles.AllowWhiteSpaces |
System.Globalization.DateTimeStyles.AdjustToUniversal,
out parsedDate))
Console.WriteLine($"{dateString} --> {parsedDate:g}");
else
Console.WriteLine($"Cannot convert {dateString}");
}
// The example displays the following output:
// 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
// Cannot convert 20131608
// 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
// 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
// Cannot convert 521116
// 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
let formats = [| "yyyyMMdd"; "HHmmss" |]
let dateStrings =
[ "20130816"; "20131608"; " 20130816 "
"115216"; "521116"; " 115216 " ]
for dateString in dateStrings do
match DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, formats, null,
System.Globalization.DateTimeStyles.AllowWhiteSpaces |||
System.Globalization.DateTimeStyles.AdjustToUniversal) with
| true, parsedDate ->
printfn $"{dateString} --> {parsedDate:g}"
| _ ->
printfn $"Cannot convert {dateString}"
// The example displays the following output:
// 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
// Cannot convert 20131608
// 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
// 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
// Cannot convert 521116
// 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
Dim formats() As String = {"yyyyMMdd", "HHmmss"}
Dim dateStrings() As String = {"20130816", "20131608",
" 20130816 ", "115216",
"521116", " 115216 "}
Dim parsedDate As DateTime
For Each dateString As String In dateStrings
If DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, formats, Nothing,
DateTimeStyles.AllowWhiteSpaces Or
DateTimeStyles.AdjustToUniversal,
parsedDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"{dateString} --> {parsedDate:g}")
Else
Console.WriteLine($"Cannot convert {dateString}")
End If
Next
' The example displays the following output:
' 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
' Cannot convert 20131608
' 20130816 --> 8/16/2013 12:00 AM
' 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
' Cannot convert 521116
' 115216 --> 4/22/2013 11:52 AM
One common use for ParseExact is to convert a string representation from a web service, usually in ISO 8601 standard format. The following code shows the correct format string to use:
var iso8601String = "20080501T08:30:52Z";
DateTime dateISO8602 = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ",
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
Console.WriteLine($"{iso8601String} --> {dateISO8602:g}");
let iso8601String = "20080501T08:30:52Z"
let dateISO8602 = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
printfn $"{iso8601String} --> {dateISO8602:g}"
Dim iso8601String As String = "20080501T08:30:52Z"
Dim dateISO8602 As DateTime = DateTime.ParseExact(iso8601String, "yyyyMMddTHH:mm:ssZ", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
Console.WriteLine($"{iso8601String} --> {dateISO8602:g}")
If a string cannot be parsed, the Parse and ParseExact methods throw an exception. The TryParse and TryParseExact methods return a Boolean value that indicates whether the conversion succeeded or failed. You should use the TryParse or TryParseExact methods in scenarios where performance is important. The parsing operation for date and time strings tends to have a high failure rate, and exception handling is expensive. Use these methods if strings are input by users or coming from an unknown source.
For more information about parsing date and time values, see Parsing Date and Time Strings.
DateTime values
Descriptions of time values in the DateTime type are often expressed using the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard. Coordinated Universal Time is the internationally recognized name for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Coordinated Universal Time is the time as measured at zero degrees longitude, the UTC origin point. Daylight saving time is not applicable to UTC.
Local time is relative to a particular time zone. A time zone is associated with a time zone offset. A time zone offset is the displacement of the time zone measured in hours from the UTC origin point. In addition, local time is optionally affected by daylight saving time, which adds or subtracts a time interval adjustment. Local time is calculated by adding the time zone offset to UTC and adjusting for daylight saving time if necessary. The time zone offset at the UTC origin point is zero.
UTC time is suitable for calculations, comparisons, and storing dates and time in files. Local time is appropriate for display in user interfaces of desktop applications. Time zone-aware applications (such as many Web applications) also need to work with a number of other time zones.
If the Kind property of a DateTime object is DateTimeKind.Unspecified, it is unspecified whether the time represented is local time, UTC time, or a time in some other time zone.
DateTime resolution
Note
As an alternative to performing date and time arithmetic on DateTime values to measure elapsed time, you can use the Stopwatch class.
The Ticks property expresses date and time values in units of one ten-millionth of a second. The Millisecond property returns the thousandths of a second in a date and time value. Using repeated calls to the DateTime.Now property to measure elapsed time is dependent on the system clock. The system clock on Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems has a resolution of approximately 15 milliseconds. This resolution affects small time intervals less than 100 milliseconds.
The following example illustrates the dependence of current date and time values on the resolution of the system clock. In the example, an outer loop repeats 20 times, and an inner loop serves to delay the outer loop. If the value of the outer loop counter is 10, a call to the Thread.Sleep method introduces a five-millisecond delay. The following example shows the number of milliseconds returned by the DateTime.Now.Milliseconds property changes only after the call to Thread.Sleep.
string output = "";
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= 20; ctr++)
{
output += String.Format($"{DateTime.Now.Millisecond}\n");
// Introduce a delay loop.
for (int delay = 0; delay <= 1000; delay++)
{ }
if (ctr == 10)
{
output += "Thread.Sleep called...\n";
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(5);
}
}
Console.WriteLine(output);
// Press "Run" to see the output.
let mutable output = ""
for i = 0 to 20 do
output <- output + $"{DateTime.Now.Millisecond}\n"
// Introduce a delay loop.
for _ = 0 to 1000 do ()
if i = 10 then
output <- output + "Thread.Sleep called...\n"
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep 5
printfn $"{output}"
// Press "Run" to see the output.
Dim output As String = ""
For ctr As Integer = 0 To 20
output += Date.Now.Millisecond.ToString() + vbCrLf
' Introduce a delay loop.
For delay As Integer = 0 To 1000
Next
If ctr = 10 Then
output += "Thread.Sleep called..." + vbCrLf
Thread.Sleep(5)
End If
Next
Console.WriteLine(output)
' The example displays output like the following:
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' 111
' Thread.Sleep called...
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
' 143
DateTime operations
A calculation using a DateTime structure, such as Add or Subtract, does not modify the value of the structure. Instead, the calculation returns a new DateTime structure whose value is the result of the calculation.
Conversion operations between time zones (such as between UTC and local time, or between one time zone and another) take daylight saving time into account, but arithmetic and comparison operations do not.
The DateTime structure itself offers limited support for converting from one time zone to another. You can use the ToLocalTime method to convert UTC to local time, or you can use the ToUniversalTime method to convert from local time to UTC. However, a full set of time zone conversion methods is available in the TimeZoneInfo class. You convert the time in any one of the world's time zones to the time in any other time zone using these methods.
Calculations and comparisons of DateTime objects are meaningful only if the objects represent times in the same time zone. You can use a TimeZoneInfo object to represent a DateTime value's time zone, although the two are loosely coupled. A DateTime object does not have a property that returns an object that represents that date and time value's time zone. The Kind property indicates if a DateTime represents UTC, local time, or is unspecified. In a time zone-aware application, you must rely on some external mechanism to determine the time zone in which a DateTime object was created. You could use a structure that wraps both the DateTime value and the TimeZoneInfo object that represents the DateTime value's time zone. For details on using UTC in calculations and comparisons with DateTime values, see Performing Arithmetic Operations with Dates and Times.
Each DateTime member implicitly uses the Gregorian calendar to perform its operation. Exceptions are methods that implicitly specify a calendar. These include constructors that specify a calendar, and methods with a parameter derived from IFormatProvider, such as System.Globalization.DateTimeFormatInfo.
Operations by members of the DateTime type take into account details such as leap years and the number of days in a month.
DateTime values and calendars
The .NET Class Library includes a number of calendar classes, all of which are derived from the Calendar class. They are:
- The ChineseLunisolarCalendar class.
- The EastAsianLunisolarCalendar class.
- The GregorianCalendar class.
- The HebrewCalendar class.
- The HijriCalendar class.
- The JapaneseCalendar class.
- The JapaneseLunisolarCalendar class.
- The JulianCalendar class.
- The KoreanCalendar class.
- The KoreanLunisolarCalendar class.
- The PersianCalendar class.
- The TaiwanCalendar class.
- The TaiwanLunisolarCalendar class.
- The ThaiBuddhistCalendar class.
- The UmAlQuraCalendar class.
Important
Eras in the Japanese calendars are based on the emperor's reign and are therefore expected to change. For example, May 1, 2019 marked the beginning of the Reiwa era in the JapaneseCalendar and JapaneseLunisolarCalendar. Such a change of era affects all applications that use these calendars. For more information and to determine whether your applications are affected, see Handling a new era in the Japanese calendar in .NET. For information on testing your applications on Windows systems to ensure their readiness for the era change, see Prepare your application for the Japanese era change. For features in .NET that support calendars with multiple eras and for best practices when working with calendars that support multiple eras, see Working with eras.
Each culture uses a default calendar defined by its read-only CultureInfo.Calendar property. Each culture may support one or more calendars defined by its read-only CultureInfo.OptionalCalendars property. The calendar currently used by a specific CultureInfo object is defined by its DateTimeFormatInfo.Calendar property. It must be one of the calendars found in the CultureInfo.OptionalCalendars array.
A culture's current calendar is used in all formatting operations for that culture. For example, the default calendar of the Thai Buddhist culture is the Thai Buddhist Era calendar, which is represented by the ThaiBuddhistCalendar class. When a CultureInfo object that represents the Thai Buddhist culture is used in a date and time formatting operation, the Thai Buddhist Era calendar is used by default. The Gregorian calendar is used only if the culture's DateTimeFormatInfo.Calendar property is changed, as the following example shows:
var thTH = new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("th-TH");
var value = new DateTime(2016, 5, 28);
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH));
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = new System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar();
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH));
// The example displays the following output:
// 28/5/2559 0:00:00
// 28/5/2016 0:00:00
let thTH = System.Globalization.CultureInfo "th-TH"
let value = DateTime(2016, 5, 28)
printfn $"{value.ToString thTH}"
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar <- System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar()
printfn $"{value.ToString thTH}"
// The example displays the following output:
// 28/5/2559 0:00:00
// 28/5/2016 0:00:00
Dim thTH As New CultureInfo("th-TH")
Dim value As New DateTime(2016, 5, 28)
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH))
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = New GregorianCalendar()
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH))
' The example displays the following output:
' 28/5/2559 0:00:00
' 28/5/2016 0:00:00
A culture's current calendar is also used in all parsing operations for that culture, as the following example shows.
var thTH = new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("th-TH");
var value = DateTime.Parse("28/05/2559", thTH);
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH));
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = new System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar();
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH));
// The example displays the following output:
// 28/5/2559 0:00:00
// 28/5/2016 0:00:00
let thTH = System.Globalization.CultureInfo "th-TH"
let value = DateTime.Parse("28/05/2559", thTH)
printfn $"{value.ToString thTH}"
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar <- System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar()
printfn $"{value.ToString thTH}"
// The example displays the following output:
// 28/5/2559 0:00:00
// 28/5/2016 0:00:00
Private Sub ThaiBuddhistEraParse()
Dim thTH As New CultureInfo("th-TH")
Dim value As DateTime = DateTime.Parse("28/5/2559", thTH)
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH))
thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = New GregorianCalendar()
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString(thTH))
' The example displays the following output:
' 28/5/2559 0:00:00
' 28/5/2016 0:00:00
End Sub
You instantiate a DateTime value using the date and time elements (number of the year, month, and day) of a specific calendar by calling a DateTime constructor that includes a calendar parameter and passing it a Calendar object that represents that calendar. The following example uses the date and time elements from the ThaiBuddhistCalendar calendar.
var thTH = new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("th-TH");
var dat = new DateTime(2559, 5, 28, thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar);
Console.WriteLine($"Thai Buddhist era date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}");
Console.WriteLine($"Gregorian date: {dat:d}");
// The example displays the following output:
// Thai Buddhist Era Date: 28/5/2559
// Gregorian Date: 28/05/2016
let thTH = System.Globalization.CultureInfo "th-TH"
let dat = DateTime(2559, 5, 28, thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar)
printfn $"""Thai Buddhist era date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}"""
printfn $"Gregorian date: {dat:d}"
// The example displays the following output:
// Thai Buddhist Era Date: 28/5/2559
// Gregorian Date: 28/05/2016
Dim thTH As New CultureInfo("th-TH")
Dim dat As New DateTime(2559, 5, 28, thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar)
Console.WriteLine($"Thai Buddhist Era date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}")
Console.WriteLine($"Gregorian date: {dat:d}")
' The example displays the following output:
' Thai Buddhist Era Date: 28/5/2559
' Gregorian Date: 28/05/2016
DateTime constructors that do not include a calendar parameter assume that the date and time elements are expressed as units in the Gregorian calendar.
All other DateTime properties and methods use the Gregorian calendar. For example, the DateTime.Year property returns the year in the Gregorian calendar, and the DateTime.IsLeapYear(Int32) method assumes that the year parameter is a year in the Gregorian calendar. Each DateTime member that uses the Gregorian calendar has a corresponding member of the Calendar class that uses a specific calendar. For example, the Calendar.GetYear method returns the year in a specific calendar, and the Calendar.IsLeapYear method interprets the year parameter as a year number in a specific calendar. The following example uses both the DateTime and the corresponding members of the ThaiBuddhistCalendar class.
var thTH = new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("th-TH");
var cal = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar;
var dat = new DateTime(2559, 5, 28, cal);
Console.WriteLine("Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:");
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}");
Console.WriteLine($"Year: {cal.GetYear(dat)}");
Console.WriteLine($"Leap year: {cal.IsLeapYear(cal.GetYear(dat))}\n");
Console.WriteLine("Using the Gregorian calendar:");
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat:d}");
Console.WriteLine($"Year: {dat.Year}");
Console.WriteLine($"Leap year: {DateTime.IsLeapYear(dat.Year)}");
// The example displays the following output:
// Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
// Date : 28/5/2559
// Year: 2559
// Leap year : True
//
// Using the Gregorian calendar
// Date : 28/05/2016
// Year: 2016
// Leap year : True
let thTH = System.Globalization.CultureInfo "th-TH"
let cal = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar
let dat = DateTime(2559, 5, 28, cal)
printfn "Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:"
printfn $"""Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}"""
printfn $"Year: {cal.GetYear dat}"
printfn $"Leap year: {cal.IsLeapYear(cal.GetYear dat)}\n"
printfn "Using the Gregorian calendar:"
printfn $"Date: {dat:d}"
printfn $"Year: {dat.Year}"
printfn $"Leap year: {DateTime.IsLeapYear dat.Year}"
// The example displays the following output:
// Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
// Date : 28/5/2559
// Year: 2559
// Leap year : True
//
// Using the Gregorian calendar
// Date : 28/05/2016
// Year: 2016
// Leap year : True
Dim thTH As New CultureInfo("th-TH")
Dim cal As Calendar = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar
Dim dat As New DateTime(2559, 5, 28, cal)
Console.WriteLine("Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:")
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}")
Console.WriteLine($"Year: {cal.GetYear(dat)}")
Console.WriteLine($"Leap year: {cal.IsLeapYear(cal.GetYear(dat))}")
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("Using the Gregorian calendar:")
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat:d}")
Console.WriteLine($"Year: {dat.Year}")
Console.WriteLine($"Leap year: {DateTime.IsLeapYear(dat.Year)}")
' The example displays the following output:
' Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
' Date : 28/5/2559
' Year: 2559
' Leap year : True
'
' Using the Gregorian calendar
' Date : 28/05/2016
' Year: 2016
' Leap year : True
The DateTime structure includes a DayOfWeek property that returns the day of the week in the Gregorian calendar. It does not include a member that allows you to retrieve the week number of the year. To retrieve the week of the year, call the individual calendar's Calendar.GetWeekOfYear method. The following example provides an illustration.
var thTH = new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("th-TH");
var thCalendar = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar;
var dat = new DateTime(1395, 8, 18, thCalendar);
Console.WriteLine("Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:");
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}");
Console.WriteLine($"Day of Week: {thCalendar.GetDayOfWeek(dat)}");
Console.WriteLine($"Week of year: {thCalendar.GetWeekOfYear(dat, System.Globalization.CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay, DayOfWeek.Sunday)}\n");
var greg = new System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar();
Console.WriteLine("Using the Gregorian calendar:");
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat:d}");
Console.WriteLine($"Day of Week: {dat.DayOfWeek}");
Console.WriteLine($"Week of year: {greg.GetWeekOfYear(dat, System.Globalization.CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay,DayOfWeek.Sunday)}");
// The example displays the following output:
// Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
// Date : 18/8/1395
// Day of Week: Sunday
// Week of year: 34
//
// Using the Gregorian calendar
// Date : 18/08/0852
// Day of Week: Sunday
// Week of year: 34
let thTH = System.Globalization.CultureInfo "th-TH"
let thCalendar = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar
let dat = DateTime(1395, 8, 18, thCalendar)
printfn "Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:"
printfn $"""Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}"""
printfn $"Day of Week: {thCalendar.GetDayOfWeek dat}"
printfn $"Week of year: {thCalendar.GetWeekOfYear(dat, System.Globalization.CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay, DayOfWeek.Sunday)}\n"
let greg = System.Globalization.GregorianCalendar()
printfn "Using the Gregorian calendar:"
printfn $"Date: {dat:d}"
printfn $"Day of Week: {dat.DayOfWeek}"
printfn $"Week of year: {greg.GetWeekOfYear(dat, System.Globalization.CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay, DayOfWeek.Sunday)}"
// The example displays the following output:
// Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
// Date : 18/8/1395
// Day of Week: Sunday
// Week of year: 34
//
// Using the Gregorian calendar
// Date : 18/08/0852
// Day of Week: Sunday
// Week of year: 34
Dim thTH As New CultureInfo("th-TH")
Dim thCalendar As Calendar = thTH.DateTimeFormat.Calendar
Dim dat As New DateTime(1395, 8, 18, thCalendar)
Console.WriteLine("Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar:")
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat.ToString("d", thTH)}")
Console.WriteLine($"Day of Week: {thCalendar.GetDayOfWeek(dat)}")
Console.WriteLine($"Week of year: {thCalendar.GetWeekOfYear(dat, CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay, DayOfWeek.Sunday)}")
Console.WriteLine()
Dim greg As Calendar = New GregorianCalendar()
Console.WriteLine("Using the Gregorian calendar:")
Console.WriteLine($"Date: {dat:d}")
Console.WriteLine($"Day of Week: {dat.DayOfWeek}")
Console.WriteLine($"Week of year: {greg.GetWeekOfYear(dat, CalendarWeekRule.FirstDay, DayOfWeek.Sunday)}")
' The example displays the following output:
' Using the Thai Buddhist Era calendar
' Date : 18/8/1395
' Day of Week: Sunday
' Week of year: 34
'
' Using the Gregorian calendar
' Date : 18/08/0852
' Day of Week: Sunday
' Week of year: 34
For more information on dates and calendars, see Working with Calendars.
Persist DateTime values
You can persist DateTime values in the following ways:
- Convert them to strings and persist the strings.
- Convert them to 64-bit integer values (the value of the Ticks property) and persist the integers.
- Serialize the DateTime values.
You must ensure that the routine that restores the DateTime values doesn't lose data or throw an exception regardless of which technique you choose. DateTime values should round-trip. That is, the original value and the restored value should be the same. And if the original DateTime value represents a single instant of time, it should identify the same moment of time when it's restored.
Persist values as strings
To successfully restore DateTime values that are persisted as strings, follow these rules:
Make the same assumptions about culture-specific formatting when you restore the string as when you persisted it. To ensure that a string can be restored on a system whose current culture is different from the culture of the system it was saved on, call the ToString overload to save the string by using the conventions of the invariant culture. Call the Parse(String, IFormatProvider, DateTimeStyles) or TryParse(String, IFormatProvider, DateTimeStyles, DateTime) overload to restore the string by using the conventions of the invariant culture. Never use the ToString(), Parse(String), or TryParse(String, DateTime) overloads, which use the conventions of the current culture.
If the date represents a single moment of time, ensure that it represents the same moment in time when it's restored, even on a different time zone. Convert the DateTime value to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) before saving it or use DateTimeOffset.
The most common error made when persisting DateTime values as strings is to rely on the formatting conventions of the default or current culture. Problems arise if the current culture is different when saving and restoring the strings. The following example illustrates these problems. It saves five dates using the formatting conventions of the current culture, which in this case is English (United States). It restores the dates using the formatting conventions of a different culture, which in this case is English (United Kingdom). Because the formatting conventions of the two cultures are different, two of the dates can't be restored, and the remaining three dates are interpreted incorrectly. Also, if the original date and time values represent single moments in time, the restored times are incorrect because time zone information is lost.
public static void PersistAsLocalStrings()
{
SaveLocalDatesAsString();
RestoreLocalDatesFromString();
}
private static void SaveLocalDatesAsString()
{
DateTime[] dates = { new DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0),
new DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) };
string? output = null;
Console.WriteLine($"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}");
Console.WriteLine($"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:");
for (int ctr = 0; ctr < dates.Length; ctr++)
{
Console.WriteLine(dates[ctr].ToString("f"));
output += dates[ctr].ToString() + (ctr != dates.Length - 1 ? "|" : "");
}
var sw = new StreamWriter(filenameTxt);
sw.Write(output);
sw.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Saved dates...");
}
private static void RestoreLocalDatesFromString()
{
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData();
Console.WriteLine($"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}");
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(filenameTxt);
string[] inputValues = sr.ReadToEnd().Split(new char[] { '|' },
StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
sr.Close();
Console.WriteLine("The dates on an {0} system:",
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name);
foreach (var inputValue in inputValues)
{
DateTime dateValue;
if (DateTime.TryParse(inputValue, out dateValue))
{
Console.WriteLine($"'{inputValue}' --> {dateValue:f}");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine($"Cannot parse '{inputValue}'");
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Restored dates...");
}
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// Cannot parse //6/14/2014 6:32:00 AM//
// //7/10/2014 11:49:00 PM// --> 07 October 2014 23:49
// //1/10/2015 1:16:00 AM// --> 01 October 2015 01:16
// Cannot parse //12/20/2014 9:45:00 PM//
// //6/2/2014 3:14:00 PM// --> 06 February 2014 15:14
// Restored dates...
let saveLocalDatesAsString () =
let dates =
[ DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0)
DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0)
DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0)
DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0)
DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) ]
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
let output =
[ for date in dates do
printfn $"{date}"
string date ]
|> String.concat "|"
use sw = new StreamWriter(filenameTxt)
sw.Write output
printfn "Saved dates..."
let restoreLocalDatesFromString () =
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData()
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture "en-GB"
use sr = new StreamReader(filenameTxt)
let inputValues =
sr.ReadToEnd().Split('|', StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
for inputValue in inputValues do
match DateTime.TryParse inputValue with
| true, dateValue ->
printfn $"'{inputValue}' --> {dateValue:f}"
| _ ->
printfn $"Cannot parse '{inputValue}'"
printfn "Restored dates..."
let persistAsLocalStrings () =
saveLocalDatesAsString ()
restoreLocalDatesFromString ()
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// Cannot parse //6/14/2014 6:32:00 AM//
// //7/10/2014 11:49:00 PM// --> 07 October 2014 23:49
// //1/10/2015 1:16:00 AM// --> 01 October 2015 01:16
// Cannot parse //12/20/2014 9:45:00 PM//
// //6/2/2014 3:14:00 PM// --> 06 February 2014 15:14
// Restored dates...
To round-trip DateTime values successfully, follow these steps:
- If the values represent single moments of time, convert them from the local time to UTC by calling the ToUniversalTime method.
- Convert the dates to their string representations by calling the ToString(String, IFormatProvider) or String.Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) overload. Use the formatting conventions of the invariant culture by specifying CultureInfo.InvariantCulture as the
providerargument. Specify that the value should round-trip by using the "O" or "R" standard format string.
To restore the persisted DateTime values without data loss, follow these steps:
- Parse the data by calling the ParseExact or TryParseExact overload. Specify CultureInfo.InvariantCulture as the
providerargument, and use the same standard format string you used for theformatargument during conversion. Include the DateTimeStyles.RoundtripKind value in thestylesargument. - If the DateTime values represent single moments in time, call the ToLocalTime method to convert the parsed date from UTC to local time.
The following example uses the invariant culture and the "O" standard format string to ensure that DateTime values saved and restored represent the same moment in time regardless of the system, culture, or time zone of the source and target systems.
public static void PersistAsInvariantStrings()
{
SaveDatesAsInvariantStrings();
RestoreDatesAsInvariantStrings();
}
private static void SaveDatesAsInvariantStrings()
{
DateTime[] dates = { new DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0),
new DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) };
string? output = null;
Console.WriteLine($"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}");
Console.WriteLine($"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:");
for (int ctr = 0; ctr < dates.Length; ctr++)
{
Console.WriteLine(dates[ctr].ToString("f"));
output += dates[ctr].ToUniversalTime().ToString("O", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
+ (ctr != dates.Length - 1 ? "|" : "");
}
var sw = new StreamWriter(filenameTxt);
sw.Write(output);
sw.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Saved dates...");
}
private static void RestoreDatesAsInvariantStrings()
{
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData();
Console.WriteLine("Current Time Zone: {0}",
TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName);
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(filenameTxt);
string[] inputValues = sr.ReadToEnd().Split(new char[] { '|' },
StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
sr.Close();
Console.WriteLine("The dates on an {0} system:",
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name);
foreach (var inputValue in inputValues)
{
DateTime dateValue;
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(inputValue, "O", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
DateTimeStyles.RoundtripKind, out dateValue))
{
Console.WriteLine($"'{inputValue}' --> {dateValue.ToLocalTime():f}");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Cannot parse '{0}'", inputValue);
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Restored dates...");
}
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// '2014-06-14T13:32:00.0000000Z' --> 14 June 2014 14:32
// '2014-07-11T06:49:00.0000000Z' --> 11 July 2014 07:49
// '2015-01-10T09:16:00.0000000Z' --> 10 January 2015 09:16
// '2014-12-21T05:45:00.0000000Z' --> 21 December 2014 05:45
// '2014-06-02T22:14:00.0000000Z' --> 02 June 2014 23:14
// Restored dates...
let saveDatesAsInvariantStrings () =
let dates =
[ DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0)
DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0)
DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0)
DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0)
DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) ]
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
let output =
[ for date in dates do
printfn $"{date:f}"
date.ToUniversalTime().ToString("O", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture) ]
|> String.concat "|"
use sw = new StreamWriter(filenameTxt)
sw.Write output
printfn "Saved dates..."
let restoreDatesAsInvariantStrings () =
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData()
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture "en-GB"
use sr = new StreamReader(filenameTxt)
let inputValues =
sr.ReadToEnd().Split('|', StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
for inputValue in inputValues do
match DateTime.TryParseExact(inputValue, "O", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.RoundtripKind) with
| true, dateValue ->
printfn $"'{inputValue}' --> {dateValue.ToLocalTime():f}"
| _ ->
printfn $"Cannot parse '{inputValue}'"
printfn "Restored dates..."
let persistAsInvariantStrings () =
saveDatesAsInvariantStrings ()
restoreDatesAsInvariantStrings ()
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// '2014-06-14T13:32:00.0000000Z' --> 14 June 2014 14:32
// '2014-07-11T06:49:00.0000000Z' --> 11 July 2014 07:49
// '2015-01-10T09:16:00.0000000Z' --> 10 January 2015 09:16
// '2014-12-21T05:45:00.0000000Z' --> 21 December 2014 05:45
// '2014-06-02T22:14:00.0000000Z' --> 02 June 2014 23:14
// Restored dates...
Persist values as integers
You can persist a date and time as an Int64 value that represents a number of ticks. In this case, you don't have to consider the culture of the systems the DateTime values are persisted and restored on.
To persist a DateTime value as an integer:
- If the DateTime values represent single moments in time, convert them to UTC by calling the ToUniversalTime method.
- Retrieve the number of ticks represented by the DateTime value from its Ticks property.
To restore a DateTime value that has been persisted as an integer:
- Instantiate a new DateTime object by passing the Int64 value to the DateTime(Int64) constructor.
- If the DateTime value represents a single moment in time, convert it from UTC to the local time by calling the ToLocalTime method.
The following example persists an array of DateTime values as integers on a system in the U.S. Pacific Time zone. It restores it on a system in the UTC zone. The file that contains the integers includes an Int32 value that indicates the total number of Int64 values that immediately follow it.
public static void PersistAsIntegers()
{
SaveDatesAsInts();
RestoreDatesAsInts();
}
private static void SaveDatesAsInts()
{
DateTime[] dates = { new DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0),
new DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0),
new DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) };
Console.WriteLine($"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}");
Console.WriteLine($"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:");
var ticks = new long[dates.Length];
for (int ctr = 0; ctr < dates.Length; ctr++)
{
Console.WriteLine(dates[ctr].ToString("f"));
ticks[ctr] = dates[ctr].ToUniversalTime().Ticks;
}
var fs = new FileStream(filenameInts, FileMode.Create);
var bw = new BinaryWriter(fs);
bw.Write(ticks.Length);
foreach (var tick in ticks)
bw.Write(tick);
bw.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Saved dates...");
}
private static void RestoreDatesAsInts()
{
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData();
Console.WriteLine($"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}");
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");
FileStream fs = new FileStream(filenameInts, FileMode.Open);
BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(fs);
int items;
DateTime[] dates;
try
{
items = br.ReadInt32();
dates = new DateTime[items];
for (int ctr = 0; ctr < items; ctr++)
{
long ticks = br.ReadInt64();
dates[ctr] = new DateTime(ticks).ToLocalTime();
}
}
catch (EndOfStreamException)
{
Console.WriteLine("File corruption detected. Unable to restore data...");
return;
}
catch (IOException)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unspecified I/O error. Unable to restore data...");
return;
}
// Thrown during array initialization.
catch (OutOfMemoryException)
{
Console.WriteLine("File corruption detected. Unable to restore data...");
return;
}
finally
{
br.Close();
}
Console.WriteLine($"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:");
foreach (var value in dates)
Console.WriteLine(value.ToString("f"));
Console.WriteLine("Restored dates...");
}
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// 14 June 2014 14:32
// 11 July 2014 07:49
// 10 January 2015 09:16
// 21 December 2014 05:45
// 02 June 2014 23:14
// Restored dates...
let saveDatesAsInts () =
let dates =
[ DateTime(2014, 6, 14, 6, 32, 0)
DateTime(2014, 7, 10, 23, 49, 0)
DateTime(2015, 1, 10, 1, 16, 0)
DateTime(2014, 12, 20, 21, 45, 0)
DateTime(2014, 6, 2, 15, 14, 0) ]
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
let ticks =
[| for date in dates do
printfn $"{date:f}"
date.ToUniversalTime().Ticks |]
use fs = new FileStream(filenameInts, FileMode.Create)
use bw = new BinaryWriter(fs)
bw.Write ticks.Length
for tick in ticks do
bw.Write tick
printfn "Saved dates..."
let restoreDatesAsInts () =
TimeZoneInfo.ClearCachedData()
printfn $"Current Time Zone: {TimeZoneInfo.Local.DisplayName}"
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture "en-GB"
use fs = new FileStream(filenameInts, FileMode.Open)
use br = new BinaryReader(fs)
try
let items = br.ReadInt32()
let dates =
[| for _ in 0..items do
let ticks = br.ReadInt64()
DateTime(ticks).ToLocalTime() |]
printfn $"The dates on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
for value in dates do
printfn $"{value:f}"
with
| :? EndOfStreamException ->
printfn "File corruption detected. Unable to restore data..."
| :? IOException ->
printfn "Unspecified I/O error. Unable to restore data..."
// Thrown during array initialization.
| :? OutOfMemoryException ->
printfn"File corruption detected. Unable to restore data..."
printfn "Restored dates..."
let persistAsIntegers () =
saveDatesAsInts ()
restoreDatesAsInts ()
// When saved on an en-US system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
// The dates on an en-US system:
// Saturday, June 14, 2014 6:32 AM
// Thursday, July 10, 2014 11:49 PM
// Saturday, January 10, 2015 1:16 AM
// Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:45 PM
// Monday, June 02, 2014 3:14 PM
// Saved dates...
//
// When restored on an en-GB system, the example displays the following output:
// Current Time Zone: (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
// The dates on an en-GB system:
// 14 June 2014 14:32
// 11 July 2014 07:49
// 10 January 2015 09:16
// 21 December 2014 05:45
// 02 June 2014 23:14
// Restored dates...
Serialize DateTime values
You can persist DateTime values through serialization to a stream or file, and then restore them through deserialization. DateTime data is serialized in some specified object format. The objects are restored when they are deserialized. A formatter or serializer, such as JsonSerializer or XmlSerializer, handles the process of serialization and deserialization. For more information about serialization and the types of serialization supported by .NET, see Serialization.
The following example uses the XmlSerializer class to serialize and deserialize DateTime values. The values represent all leap year days in the twenty-first century. The output represents the result if the example is run on a system whose current culture is English (United Kingdom). Because you've deserialized the DateTime object itself, the code doesn't have to handle cultural differences in date and time formats.
public static void PersistAsXML()
{
// Serialize the data.
var leapYears = new List<DateTime>();
for (int year = 2000; year <= 2100; year += 4)
{
if (DateTime.IsLeapYear(year))
leapYears.Add(new DateTime(year, 2, 29));
}
DateTime[] dateArray = leapYears.ToArray();
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(dateArray.GetType());
TextWriter sw = new StreamWriter(filenameXml);
try
{
serializer.Serialize(sw, dateArray);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.InnerException?.Message);
}
finally
{
if (sw != null) sw.Close();
}
// Deserialize the data.
DateTime[]? deserializedDates;
using (var fs = new FileStream(filenameXml, FileMode.Open))
{
deserializedDates = (DateTime[]?)serializer.Deserialize(fs);
}
// Display the dates.
Console.WriteLine($"Leap year days from 2000-2100 on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:");
int nItems = 0;
if (deserializedDates is not null)
{
foreach (var dat in deserializedDates)
{
Console.Write($" {dat:d} ");
nItems++;
if (nItems % 5 == 0)
Console.WriteLine();
}
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// Leap year days from 2000-2100 on an en-GB system:
// 29/02/2000 29/02/2004 29/02/2008 29/02/2012 29/02/2016
// 29/02/2020 29/02/2024 29/02/2028 29/02/2032 29/02/2036
// 29/02/2040 29/02/2044 29/02/2048 29/02/2052 29/02/2056
// 29/02/2060 29/02/2064 29/02/2068 29/02/2072 29/02/2076
// 29/02/2080 29/02/2084 29/02/2088 29/02/2092 29/02/2096
let persistAsXML () =
// Serialize the data.
let leapYears =
[| for year in 2000..4..2100 do
if DateTime.IsLeapYear year then
DateTime(year, 2, 29) |]
let serializer = XmlSerializer(leapYears.GetType())
use sw = new StreamWriter(filenameXml)
try
serializer.Serialize(sw, leapYears)
with :? InvalidOperationException as e ->
printfn $"{e.InnerException.Message}"
// Deserialize the data.
use fs = new FileStream(filenameXml, FileMode.Open)
let deserializedDates = serializer.Deserialize fs :?> DateTime []
// Display the dates.
printfn $"Leap year days from 2000-2100 on an {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} system:"
let mutable nItems = 0
for dat in deserializedDates do
printf $" {dat:d} "
nItems <- nItems + 1
if nItems % 5 = 0 then
printfn ""
// The example displays the following output:
// Leap year days from 2000-2100 on an en-GB system:
// 29/02/2000 29/02/2004 29/02/2008 29/02/2012 29/02/2016
// 29/02/2020 29/02/2024 29/02/2028 29/02/2032 29/02/2036
// 29/02/2040 29/02/2044 29/02/2048 29/02/2052 29/02/2056
// 29/02/2060 29/02/2064 29/02/2068 29/02/2072 29/02/2076
// 29/02/2080 29/02/2084 29/02/2088 29/02/2092 29/02/2096
The previous example doesn't include time information. If a DateTime value represents a moment in time and is expressed as a local time, convert it from local time to UTC before serializing it by calling the ToUniversalTime method. After you deserialize it, convert it from UTC to local time by calling the ToLocalTime method.
DateTime vs. TimeSpan
The DateTime and TimeSpan value types differ in that a DateTime represents an instant in time whereas a TimeSpan represents a time interval. You can subtract one instance of DateTime from another to obtain a TimeSpan object that represents the time interval between them. Or you could add a positive TimeSpan to the current DateTime to obtain a DateTime value that represents a future date.
You can add or subtract a time interval from a DateTime object. Time intervals can be negative or positive, and they can be expressed in units such as ticks, seconds, or as a TimeSpan object.
Compare for equality within tolerance
Equality comparisons for DateTime values are exact. To be considered equal, two values must be expressed as the same number of ticks. That precision is often unnecessary or even incorrect for many applications. Often, you want to test if DateTime objects are roughly equal.
The following example demonstrates how to compare roughly equivalent DateTime values. It accepts a small margin of difference when declaring them equal.
public static bool RoughlyEquals(DateTime time, DateTime timeWithWindow, int windowInSeconds, int frequencyInSeconds)
{
long delta = (long)((TimeSpan)(timeWithWindow - time)).TotalSeconds % frequencyInSeconds;
delta = delta > windowInSeconds ? frequencyInSeconds - delta : delta;
return Math.Abs(delta) < windowInSeconds;
}
public static void TestRoughlyEquals()
{
int window = 10;
int freq = 60 * 60 * 2; // 2 hours;
DateTime d1 = DateTime.Now;
DateTime d2 = d1.AddSeconds(2 * window);
DateTime d3 = d1.AddSeconds(-2 * window);
DateTime d4 = d1.AddSeconds(window / 2);
DateTime d5 = d1.AddSeconds(-window / 2);
DateTime d6 = (d1.AddHours(2)).AddSeconds(2 * window);
DateTime d7 = (d1.AddHours(2)).AddSeconds(-2 * window);
DateTime d8 = (d1.AddHours(2)).AddSeconds(window / 2);
DateTime d9 = (d1.AddHours(2)).AddSeconds(-window / 2);
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d1 ({d1}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d1, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d2 ({d2}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d2, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d3 ({d3}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d3, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d4 ({d4}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d4, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d5 ({d5}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d5, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d6 ({d6}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d6, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d7 ({d7}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d7, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d8 ({d8}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d8, window, freq)}");
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d9 ({d9}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d9, window, freq)}");
}
// The example displays output similar to the following:
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d2 (1/28/2010 9:01:46 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d3 (1/28/2010 9:01:06 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d4 (1/28/2010 9:01:31 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d5 (1/28/2010 9:01:21 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d6 (1/28/2010 11:01:46 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d7 (1/28/2010 11:01:06 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d8 (1/28/2010 11:01:31 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d9 (1/28/2010 11:01:21 PM): True
let roughlyEquals (time: DateTime) (timeWithWindow: DateTime) windowInSeconds frequencyInSeconds =
let delta =
int64 (timeWithWindow - time).TotalSeconds % frequencyInSeconds
let delta = if delta > windowInSeconds then frequencyInSeconds - delta else delta
abs delta < windowInSeconds
let testRoughlyEquals () =
let window = 10
let window' = 10.
let freq = 60 * 60 * 2 // 2 hours
let d1 = DateTime.Now
let d2 = d1.AddSeconds(2. * window')
let d3 = d1.AddSeconds(-2. * window')
let d4 = d1.AddSeconds(window' / 2.)
let d5 = d1.AddSeconds(-window' / 2.)
let d6 = (d1.AddHours 2).AddSeconds(2. * window')
let d7 = (d1.AddHours 2).AddSeconds(-2. * window')
let d8 = (d1.AddHours 2).AddSeconds(window' / 2.)
let d9 = (d1.AddHours 2).AddSeconds(-window' / 2.)
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d1 ({d1}): {roughlyEquals d1 d1 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d2 ({d2}): {roughlyEquals d1 d2 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d3 ({d3}): {roughlyEquals d1 d3 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d4 ({d4}): {roughlyEquals d1 d4 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d5 ({d5}): {roughlyEquals d1 d5 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d6 ({d6}): {roughlyEquals d1 d6 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d7 ({d7}): {roughlyEquals d1 d7 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d8 ({d8}): {roughlyEquals d1 d8 window freq}"
printfn $"d1 ({d1}) ~= d9 ({d9}): {roughlyEquals d1 d9 window freq}"
// The example displays output similar to the following:
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d2 (1/28/2010 9:01:46 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d3 (1/28/2010 9:01:06 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d4 (1/28/2010 9:01:31 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d5 (1/28/2010 9:01:21 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d6 (1/28/2010 11:01:46 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d7 (1/28/2010 11:01:06 PM): False
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d8 (1/28/2010 11:01:31 PM): True
// d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d9 (1/28/2010 11:01:21 PM): True
Public Shared Function RoughlyEquals(time As DateTime, timeWithWindow As DateTime,
windowInSeconds As Integer,
frequencyInSeconds As Integer) As Boolean
Dim delta As Long = (timeWithWindow.Subtract(time)).TotalSeconds _
Mod frequencyInSeconds
If delta > windowInSeconds Then
delta = frequencyInSeconds - delta
End If
Return Math.Abs(delta) < windowInSeconds
End Function
Public Shared Sub TestRoughlyEquals()
Dim window As Integer = 10
Dim freq As Integer = 60 * 60 * 2 ' 2 hours;
Dim d1 As DateTime = DateTime.Now
Dim d2 As DateTime = d1.AddSeconds(2 * window)
Dim d3 As DateTime = d1.AddSeconds(-2 * window)
Dim d4 As DateTime = d1.AddSeconds(window / 2)
Dim d5 As DateTime = d1.AddSeconds(-window / 2)
Dim d6 As DateTime = d1.AddHours(2).AddSeconds(2 * window)
Dim d7 As DateTime = d1.AddHours(2).AddSeconds(-2 * window)
Dim d8 As DateTime = d1.AddHours(2).AddSeconds(window / 2)
Dim d9 As DateTime = d1.AddHours(2).AddSeconds(-window / 2)
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d1 ({d1}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d1, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d2 ({d2}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d2, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d3 ({d3}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d3, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d4 ({d4}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d4, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d5 ({d5}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d5, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d6 ({d6}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d6, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d7 ({d7}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d7, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d8 ({d8}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d8, window, freq)}")
Console.WriteLine($"d1 ({d1}) ~= d9 ({d9}): {RoughlyEquals(d1, d9, window, freq)}")
End Sub
' The example displays output similar to the following:
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM): True
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d2 (1/28/2010 9:01:46 PM): False
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d3 (1/28/2010 9:01:06 PM): False
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d4 (1/28/2010 9:01:31 PM): True
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d5 (1/28/2010 9:01:21 PM): True
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d6 (1/28/2010 11:01:46 PM): False
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d7 (1/28/2010 11:01:06 PM): False
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d8 (1/28/2010 11:01:31 PM): True
' d1 (1/28/2010 9:01:26 PM) ~= d9 (1/28/2010 11:01:21 PM): True
COM interop considerations
A DateTime value that is transferred to a COM application, then is transferred back to a managed application, is said to round-trip. However, a DateTime value that specifies only a time does not round-trip as you might expect.
If you round-trip only a time, such as 3 P.M., the final date and time is December 30, 1899 C.E. at 3:00 P.M., instead of January, 1, 0001 C.E. at 3:00 P.M. .NET and COM assume a default date when only a time is specified. However, the COM system assumes a base date of December 30, 1899 C.E., while .NET assumes a base date of January, 1, 0001 C.E.
When only a time is passed from .NET to COM, special processing is performed that converts the time to the format used by COM. When only a time is passed from COM to .NET, no special processing is performed because that would corrupt legitimate dates and times on or before December 30, 1899. If a date starts its round-trip from COM, .NET and COM preserve the date.
The behavior of .NET and COM means that if your application round-trips a DateTime that only specifies a time, your application must remember to modify or ignore the erroneous date from the final DateTime object.
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