System.TimeSpan struct

Article
01/08/2024

This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.

A TimeSpan object represents a time interval (duration of time or elapsed time) that is measured as a positive or negative number of days, hours, minutes, seconds, and fractions of a second. The TimeSpan structure can also be used to represent the time of day, but only if the time is unrelated to a particular date. Otherwise, the DateTime or DateTimeOffset structure should be used instead. (For more information about using the TimeSpan structure to reflect the time of day, see Choosing Between DateTime, DateTimeOffset, TimeSpan, and TimeZoneInfo.)

Note

A TimeSpan value represents a time interval and can be expressed as a particular number of days, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. Because it represents a general interval without reference to a particular start or end point, it cannot be expressed in terms of years and months, both of which have a variable number of days. It differs from a DateTime value, which represents a date and time without reference to a particular time zone, or a DateTimeOffset value, which represents a specific moment of time.

The largest unit of time that the TimeSpan structure uses to measure duration is a day. Time intervals are measured in days for consistency, because the number of days in larger units of time, such as months and years, varies.

The value of a TimeSpan object is the number of ticks that equal the represented time interval. A tick is equal to 100 nanoseconds, or one ten-millionth of a second. The value of a TimeSpan object can range from TimeSpan.MinValue to TimeSpan.MaxValue.

Instantiate a TimeSpan value

You can instantiate a TimeSpan value in a number of ways:

By calling its implicit parameterless constructor. This creates an object whose value is TimeSpan.Zero, as the following example shows.

TimeSpan interval = new TimeSpan();
Console.WriteLine(interval.Equals(TimeSpan.Zero));    // Displays "True".

let interval = TimeSpan()
printfn $"{interval.Equals TimeSpan.Zero}"    // Displays "True".

Dim interval As New TimeSpan()
Console.WriteLine(interval.Equals(TimeSpan.Zero))     ' Displays "True".

By calling one of its explicit constructors. The following example initializes a TimeSpan value to a specified number of hours, minutes, and seconds.

TimeSpan interval = new TimeSpan(2, 14, 18);
Console.WriteLine(interval.ToString());              

// Displays "02:14:18".

let interval = TimeSpan(2, 14, 18)
printfn $"{interval}"              

// Displays "02:14:18".

Dim interval As New TimeSpan(2, 14, 18)
Console.WriteLine(interval.ToString())                ' Displays "02:14:18".

By calling a method or performing an operation that returns a TimeSpan value. For example, you can instantiate a TimeSpan value that represents the interval between two date and time values, as the following example shows.

DateTime departure = new DateTime(2010, 6, 12, 18, 32, 0);
DateTime arrival = new DateTime(2010, 6, 13, 22, 47, 0);
TimeSpan travelTime = arrival - departure;  
Console.WriteLine("{0} - {1} = {2}", arrival, departure, travelTime);      

// The example displays the following output:
//       6/13/2010 10:47:00 PM - 6/12/2010 6:32:00 PM = 1.04:15:00

let departure = DateTime(2010, 6, 12, 18, 32, 0)
let arrival = DateTime(2010, 6, 13, 22, 47, 0)
let travelTime = arrival - departure  
printfn $"{arrival} - {departure} = {travelTime}"

// The example displays the following output:
//       6/13/2010 10:47:00 PM - 6/12/2010 6:32:00 PM = 1.04:15:00

Dim departure As DateTime = #06/12/2010 6:32PM#
Dim arrival As DateTime = #06/13/2010 10:47PM#
Dim travelTime As TimeSpan = arrival - departure
Console.WriteLine("{0} - {1} = {2}", arrival, departure, travelTime)
' The example displays the following output:
'       6/13/2010 10:47:00 PM - 6/12/2010 6:32:00 PM = 1.04:15:00

You can also initialize a TimeSpan object to a zero time value in this way, as the following example shows.

Random rnd = new Random();

TimeSpan timeSpent = TimeSpan.Zero;

timeSpent += GetTimeBeforeLunch();
timeSpent += GetTimeAfterLunch();

Console.WriteLine("Total time: {0}", timeSpent);

TimeSpan GetTimeBeforeLunch()
{
    return new TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0);
}

TimeSpan GetTimeAfterLunch()
{
    return new TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0);
}

// The example displays output like the following:
//        Total time: 08:00:00

open System

let rnd = Random()

let getTimeBeforeLunch () =
    TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0)

let getTimeAfterLunch() =
    TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0)

do
    let timeSpent = TimeSpan.Zero

    let timeSpent = timeSpent + getTimeBeforeLunch ()
    let timeSpent = timeSpent + getTimeAfterLunch ()

    printfn $"Total time: {timeSpent}"


// The example displays output like the following:
//        Total time: 08:00:00

Module Example
   Dim rnd As New Random()
   
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim timeSpent As TimeSpan = TimeSpan.Zero

      timeSpent += GetTimeBeforeLunch()
      timeSpent += GetTimeAfterLunch()

      Console.WriteLine("Total time: {0}", timeSpent)
   End Sub
   
   Private Function GetTimeBeforeLunch() As TimeSpan
      Return New TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0)
   End Function
   
   Private Function GetTimeAfterLunch() As TimeSpan
      Return New TimeSpan(rnd.Next(3, 6), 0, 0)
   End Function
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'       Total time: 08:00:00

TimeSpan values are returned by arithmetic operators and methods of the DateTime, DateTimeOffset, and TimeSpan structures.

By parsing the string representation of a TimeSpan value. You can use the Parse and TryParse methods to convert strings that contain time intervals to TimeSpan values. The following example uses the Parse method to convert an array of strings to TimeSpan values.

string[] values = { "12", "31.", "5.8:32:16", "12:12:15.95", ".12"};
foreach (string value in values)
{
   try {
      TimeSpan ts = TimeSpan.Parse(value);
      Console.WriteLine("'{0}' --> {1}", value, ts);
   }
   catch (FormatException) {
      Console.WriteLine("Unable to parse '{0}'", value);
   }
   catch (OverflowException) {
      Console.WriteLine("'{0}' is outside the range of a TimeSpan.", value);
   }   
}

// The example displays the following output:
//       '12' --> 12.00:00:00
//       Unable to parse '31.'
//       '5.8:32:16' --> 5.08:32:16
//       '12:12:15.95' --> 12:12:15.9500000
//       Unable to parse '.12'

let values = [| "12"; "31."; "5.8:32:16"; "12:12:15.95"; ".12" |]
for value in values do
    try
        let ts = TimeSpan.Parse value
        printfn $"'{value}' --> {ts}"
    with 
    | :? FormatException ->
        printfn $"Unable to parse '{value}'"
    | :? OverflowException ->
        printfn $"'{value}' is outside the range of a TimeSpan."

// The example displays the following output:
//       '12' --> 12.00:00:00
//       Unable to parse '31.'
//       '5.8:32:16' --> 5.08:32:16
//       '12:12:15.95' --> 12:12:15.9500000
//       Unable to parse '.12'

Dim values() As String = {"12", "31.", "5.8:32:16", "12:12:15.95", ".12"}
For Each value As String In values
    Try
        Dim ts As TimeSpan = TimeSpan.Parse(value)
        Console.WriteLine("'{0}' --> {1}", value, ts)
    Catch e As FormatException
        Console.WriteLine("Unable to parse '{0}'", value)
    Catch e As OverflowException
        Console.WriteLine("'{0}' is outside the range of a TimeSpan.", value)
    End Try
Next
' The example displays the following output:
'       '12' --> 12.00:00:00
'       Unable to parse '31.'
'       '5.8:32:16' --> 5.08:32:16
'       '12:12:15.95' --> 12:12:15.9500000
'       Unable to parse '.12'

In addition, you can define the precise format of the input string to be parsed and converted to a TimeSpan value by calling the ParseExact or TryParseExact method.

Perform operations on TimeSpan values

You can add and subtract time durations either by using the Addition and Subtraction operators, or by calling the Add and Subtract methods. You can also compare two time durations by calling the Compare, CompareTo, and Equals methods. The TimeSpan structure also includes the Duration and Negate methods, which convert time intervals to positive and negative values,

The range of TimeSpan values is MinValue to MaxValue.

Format a TimeSpan value

A TimeSpan value can be represented as [-]d.hh:mm:ss.ff, where the optional minus sign indicates a negative time interval, the d component is days, hh is hours as measured on a 24-hour clock, mm is minutes, ss is seconds, and ff is fractions of a second. That is, a time interval consists of a positive or negative number of days without a time of day, or a number of days with a time of day, or only a time of day.

Beginning with .NET Framework 4, the TimeSpan structure supports culture-sensitive formatting through the overloads of its ToString method, which converts a TimeSpan value to its string representation. The default TimeSpan.ToString() method returns a time interval by using an invariant format that is identical to its return value in previous versions of .NET Framework. The TimeSpan.ToString(String) overload lets you specify a format string that defines the string representation of the time interval. The TimeSpan.ToString(String, IFormatProvider) overload lets you specify a format string and the culture whose formatting conventions are used to create the string representation of the time interval. TimeSpan supports both standard and custom format strings. (For more information, see Standard TimeSpan Format Strings and Custom TimeSpan Format Strings.) However, only standard format strings are culture-sensitive.

Restore legacy TimeSpan formatting

In some cases, code that successfully formats TimeSpan values in .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions fails in .NET Framework 4. This is most common in code that calls a <TimeSpan_LegacyFormatMode> element method to format a TimeSpan value with a format string. The following example successfully formats a TimeSpan value in .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions, but throws an exception in .NET Framework 4 and later versions. Note that it attempts to format a TimeSpan value by using an unsupported format specifier, which is ignored in .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions.

ShowFormattingCode();
// Output from .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions:
//       12:30:45
// Output from .NET Framework 4:
//       Invalid Format    

Console.WriteLine("---");

ShowParsingCode();
// Output:
//       000000006 --> 6.00:00:00

void ShowFormattingCode()
{
    TimeSpan interval = new TimeSpan(12, 30, 45);
    string output;
    try
    {
        output = String.Format("{0:r}", interval);
    }
    catch (FormatException)
    {
        output = "Invalid Format";
    }
    Console.WriteLine(output);
}

void ShowParsingCode()
{
    string value = "000000006";
    try
    {
        TimeSpan interval = TimeSpan.Parse(value);
        Console.WriteLine("{0} --> {1}", value, interval);
    }
    catch (FormatException)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("{0}: Bad Format", value);
    }
    catch (OverflowException)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("{0}: Overflow", value);
    }
}

let showFormattingCode () =
    let interval = TimeSpan(12, 30, 45)
    try
        $"{interval:r}"
    with :? FormatException ->
        "Invalid Format"
    |> printfn "%s"

let showParsingCode () =
    let value = "000000006"
    try
        let interval = TimeSpan.Parse value
        printfn $"{value} --> {interval}"
    with
    | :? FormatException ->
        printfn $"{value}: Bad Format"
    | :? OverflowException ->
        printfn $"{value}: Overflow"

showFormattingCode ()
// Output from .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions:
//       12:30:45
// Output from .NET Framework 4:
//       Invalid Format    

printfn "---"

showParsingCode ()
// Output:
//       000000006 --> 6.00:00:00

Dim interval As New TimeSpan(12, 30, 45)
Dim output As String
Try
    output = String.Format("{0:r}", interval)
Catch e As FormatException
    output = "Invalid Format"
End Try
Console.WriteLine(output)
' Output from .NET Framework 3.5 and earlier versions:
'       12:30:45
' Output from .NET Framework 4:
'       Invalid Format

If you cannot modify the code, you can restore the legacy formatting of TimeSpan values in one of the following ways:

By creating a configuration file that contains the <TimeSpan_LegacyFormatMode> element. Setting this element's enabled attribute to true restores legacy TimeSpan formatting on a per-application basis.

By setting the "NetFx40_TimeSpanLegacyFormatMode" compatibility switch when you create an application domain. This enables legacy TimeSpan formatting on a per-application-domain basis. The following example creates an application domain that uses legacy TimeSpan formatting.

using System;

public class Example2
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        AppDomainSetup appSetup = new AppDomainSetup();
        appSetup.SetCompatibilitySwitches(new string[] { "NetFx40_TimeSpanLegacyFormatMode" });
        AppDomain legacyDomain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("legacyDomain",
                                                        null, appSetup);
        legacyDomain.ExecuteAssembly("ShowTimeSpan.exe");
    }
}

open System

let appSetup = AppDomainSetup()
appSetup.SetCompatibilitySwitches [| "NetFx40_TimeSpanLegacyFormatMode" |]
let legacyDomain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("legacyDomain", null, appSetup)
legacyDomain.ExecuteAssembly "ShowTimeSpan.exe" |> ignore

Module Example3
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim appSetup As New AppDomainSetup()
        appSetup.SetCompatibilitySwitches({"NetFx40_TimeSpanLegacyFormatMode"})
        Dim legacyDomain As AppDomain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("legacyDomain",
                                                             Nothing, appSetup)
        legacyDomain.ExecuteAssembly("ShowTimeSpan.exe")
    End Sub
End Module

When the following code executes in the new application domain, it reverts to legacy TimeSpan formatting behavior.

using System;

public class Example3
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      TimeSpan interval = DateTime.Now - DateTime.Now.Date;
      string msg = String.Format("Elapsed Time Today: {0:d} hours.",
                                 interval);
      Console.WriteLine(msg);
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       Elapsed Time Today: 01:40:52.2524662 hours.

open System

let interval = DateTime.Now - DateTime.Now.Date
printfn $"Elapsed Time Today: {interval:d} hours."
// The example displays the following output:
//       Elapsed Time Today: 01:40:52.2524662 hours.

Module Example4
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim interval As TimeSpan = Date.Now - Date.Now.Date
        Dim msg As String = String.Format("Elapsed Time Today: {0:d} hours.",
                                         interval)
        Console.WriteLine(msg)
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays output like the following:
'       Elapsed Time Today: 01:40:52.2524662 hours.

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System.TimeSpan struct

Instantiate a TimeSpan value

Perform operations on TimeSpan values

Format a TimeSpan value

Restore legacy TimeSpan formatting

Additional resources