Archive of: DateTime

1. Working With Custom Time Strings in C# posted February 12, 2010
   

   Let’s say we need to process some external data where the format and contents of the files are out of our control. To make matters worse, what if those same external files store tiemstamps in a foreign format that DateTime.Parse() does not understand?

   It would be ill-advised to keep the dates in string format due to the level of robust date processing capabilities present in .NET.

   Luckily, .NET provides a nice way to create custom date formats so any date string can be easily converted into a DateTime object.

   //locale information
   CultureInfo provider = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
   
   //The timestamp from the external file
   string dateString = "Dec 07 01:32:25 2009"; 
   
   //the new format
   string format = "MMM dd HH':'mm':'ss yyyy";
   
   //Convert the time string into a legitimate DateTime object
   DateTime result = DateTime.ParseExact(dateString, format, provider);
   

   Now, we have the benefit of leveraging both custom timestamp values and .NET’s built in DateTime Functionality.

   Do you think this might be useful on your current project? Learn more about DateTime.ParseExact() here here.

   Image From: kenyonreview.org

Recent Posts

• Using Extension Methods in .NET

  Extension methods are a handy way of adding your own custom methods to a class ... Read More »

• Grouping Radio Buttons in ASP .NET MVC 2

  Here's a simple issue I ran into today when dealing with radio buttons in an ... Read More »

• How to Properly Style HTML Tables

  Some folks would argue that you should never use tables. And, for the most ... Read More »

Tag Cloud