{"id":1822,"date":"2023-05-15T07:55:34","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T00:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csharptutorial.net\/?page_id=1822"},"modified":"2023-06-17T21:59:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T14:59:24","slug":"csharp-datetime","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.csharptutorial.net\/csharp-tutorial\/csharp-datetime\/","title":{"rendered":"C# DateTime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the C# DateTime<\/code> type to work with date and time values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating C# DateTime objects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The DateTime<\/code> is a value type<\/strong> that represents dates and times with values from January 1, 0001, 00:00:00<\/code> (midnight) to 11:59:59 PM, December 31 9999<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create a DateTime<\/code> object, you call its constructor<\/a> and pass various date and time properties such as year, month, day, minute, hour, and second. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n

using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\nWriteLine(dt.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2023<\/span> 7<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In this example, we create a DateTime<\/code> object with the value 7:00:00 AM<\/code> on May 15, 2023<\/code>. The DateTime<\/code> constructor has many constructor overloads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, if you use only year, month, and day, the time will default to 12:00:00 AM<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>);\nWriteLine(dt.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2023<\/span> 12<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Accessing C# DateTime properties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The DateTime<\/code> object provides many useful properties that allow you to work with dates and times easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, you can access Year<\/code>, Month<\/code>, Day<\/code>, Hour<\/code>, Minute<\/code>, and Second <\/code>via the respective properties like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(dt.Year);\nWriteLine(dt.Month);\nWriteLine(dt.Day);\nWriteLine(dt.Hour);\nWriteLine(dt.Minute);\nWriteLine(dt.Second);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
2023<\/span>\n5<\/span>\n15<\/span>\n7<\/span>\n0<\/span>\n0<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To get the current local time, you can use the DateTime.Now<\/code> property. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = DateTime.Now;\nWriteLine(dt.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
It’ll output the current local time of the computer where you run the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Formatting C# DateTime values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The format of the date and time depends on many factors such as culture, international standards, and personal preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By default, the ToString()<\/code> method of the DateTime<\/code> object returns the string representation of a date and time value based on the current culture’s short-date and long-time pattern. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(dt.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2023<\/span> 7<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To ToString()<\/code> method has many overloads that allow you to customize the representation of the date and time value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, you can use the \"d\"<\/code> and \"D\"<\/code> format specifier to format a DateTime<\/code> object using the short and long date pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(dt.ToString(\"d\"<\/span>)); \/\/ 5\/15\/2023<\/span>\nWriteLine(dt.ToString(\"D\"<\/span>)); \/\/ Monday, May 15, 2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2023<\/span>\nMonday, May 15<\/span>, 2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
See the full standard date and time format string for reference<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performing DateTime Calculations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To return a new DateTime<\/code> that adds a specified number of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds to a value of a DateTime<\/code> instance, you use the AddYears<\/code>, AddMonths<\/code>, AddDays<\/code>, AddHours<\/code>, AddMinutes<\/code>, AddSeconds<\/code> methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the following program shows how to use the AddYears()<\/code> method to add one year to a DateTime<\/code> instance:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\n\/\/ add one year<\/span>\nvar<\/span> dt2 = dt.AddYears(1<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(dt2);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2024<\/span> 7<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Because the Add*<\/code> method returns a new instance of the DateTime<\/code>, you can chain the Add*<\/code> methods like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\n\/\/ add 1 year, 2 months, 3 days, and 4 hours<\/span>\nvar<\/span> dt2 = dt.AddYears(1<\/span>)\n            .AddMonths(2<\/span>)\n            .AddDays(3<\/span>)\n            .AddHours(4<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(dt2);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
7<\/span>\/18<\/span>\/2024<\/span> 11<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Notice that to subtract a specified number of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds from a DateTime<\/code> instance, you can use the Add* methods but use a negative value. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>, 7<\/span>, 0<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\n\/\/ subtract 1 year<\/span>\nvar<\/span> dt2 = dt.AddYears(-1<\/span>);\nWriteLine(dt2);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
5<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2022<\/span> 7<\/span>:00<\/span>:00<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To calculate the time interval between two DateTime<\/code> values, you can use the Subtract<\/code> method. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> dt1 = new<\/span> DateTime(2023<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>);\nvar<\/span> dt2 = new<\/span> DateTime(2022<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 15<\/span>);\n\n\nvar<\/span> interval = dt1.Subtract(dt2);\nConsole.WriteLine(interval.Days); \/\/ 365<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In this example, we created two DateTime<\/code> objects and use the Subtract()<\/code> method to subtract the second DateTime<\/code> object from the first one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Use C# DateTime<\/code> type to work with date and time values.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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The return value of the Subtract()<\/code> method is a time interval with the type TimeSpan<\/a><\/code>. And finally, we display the number of days of the timespan on the console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n