{"id":2305,"date":"2023-06-17T21:53:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T14:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csharptutorial.net\/?page_id=2305"},"modified":"2023-06-17T22:30:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T15:30:24","slug":"csharp-dateonly","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.csharptutorial.net\/csharp-tutorial\/csharp-dateonly\/","title":{"rendered":"C# DateOnly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you will learn about the C# DateOnly<\/code> and how to use it effectively to manage date-only data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to the C# DateOnly type<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

.NET 6 introduced the DateOnly<\/code> type that represents a specific date without a time component. Like the DateTime<\/a><\/code> type, the DateOnly<\/code> has a range from 0001-01-01<\/code> through 9999-12-31<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DateOnly<\/code> type is suitable for representing a specific date such as birth date, invoice date, and expired date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DateOnly<\/code> is a struct so it is immutable. In other words, a DateOnly<\/code> cannot be changed once it is created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create a new DateOnly<\/code> object, you use the following constructor:<\/p>\n\n\n

DateOnly(int<\/span> year, int<\/span> month, int<\/span> day);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
For example, the following creates a DateOnly<\/code> object that represents January 31, 2023<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
var<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The DateOnly<\/code> object has the Year<\/code>, Month<\/code>, and Day<\/code> properties that represent the year, month, and day of the date:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(d.Year);\nWriteLine(d.Month);\nWriteLine(d.Day);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
2023<\/span>\n1<\/span>\n31<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Also, you can use the Parse()<\/code> static method of the DateOnly<\/code> class to parse a date string into a DateOnly<\/code> instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the following parses the string \"2023-01-31\"<\/code> into a DateOnly<\/code> instance:<\/p>\n\n\n
var<\/span> d = DateOnly.Parse(\"2023-01-31\"<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
DateOnly operations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once having a DateOnly<\/code> object, you can use it to perform various operations such as comparing two DateOnly<\/code> objects, adding or subtracting days, months, or years from a DateOnly<\/code> object, and formatting a DateOnly<\/code> object as a string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comparing two DateOnly objects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The following example illustrates how to compare two DateOnly<\/code> objects:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d1 = DateOnly.Parse(\"2023-01-31\"<\/span>);\nvar<\/span> d2 = DateOnly.Parse(\"2023-01-30\"<\/span>);\n\nif<\/span> (d1 < d2)\n{\n    WriteLine($\"{d1}<\/span> is ealier than {d2}<\/span>\"<\/span>);\n}\nelse<\/span>\n{\n    WriteLine($\"{d1}<\/span> is after than {d2}<\/span>\"<\/span>);\n}<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
1<\/span>\/31<\/span>\/2023<\/span> is<\/span> after than 1<\/span>\/30<\/span>\/2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Adding or subtracting days, months, or years from a DateOnly instance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The following example illustrates how to add 7 days to a DateOnly<\/code> object:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);\nvar<\/span> sevenDaysLater = d.AddDays(7<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(sevenDaysLater.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
2<\/span>\/7<\/span>\/2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To subtract the number of days from a DateOnly<\/code> object, you also use the AddDays()<\/code> method but pass a negative number like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);\nvar<\/span> sevenDaysBefore = d.AddDays(-7<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(sevenDaysBefore.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
1<\/span>\/24<\/span>\/2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Since the AddDays()<\/code>, AddMonths()<\/code>, and AddYears()<\/code> methods return a DateOnly<\/code> object, you can chain them together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the following add 2 months and 1 year to a DateOnly<\/code> object:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);\nvar<\/span> newDate= d.AddMonths(2<\/span>).AddYears(1<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(newDate.ToString());<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
3<\/span>\/31<\/span>\/2024<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Formatting a DateOnly object as a string<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The following format a DateOnly<\/code> object as a string:<\/p>\n\n\n
using<\/span> static<\/span> System.Console;\n\nvar<\/span> d = new<\/span> DateOnly(2023<\/span>, 1<\/span>, 31<\/span>);\n\nWriteLine(d.ToString(\"D\"<\/span>));<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
Tuesday, January 31<\/span>, 2023<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> C#<\/span> (<\/span>cs<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In this example, we use the “D” format specifier to format the DateOnly<\/code> object. For a comprehensive date format string, check out this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DateOnly vs. Datetime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The following table compares the DateOnly<\/code> with the DateTime<\/code> type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/th>DateOnly<\/th>DateTime<\/th><\/tr>
Represents<\/td>A date without a time component<\/td>A date and time component<\/td><\/tr>
Immutable<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Size<\/td>8 bytes<\/td>16 bytes<\/td><\/tr>
Serialization<\/td>Serializes only the date component<\/td>Serializes the date and time components<\/td><\/tr>
Use cases<\/td>When you only need to represent a date, such as a birthday or a holiday<\/td>When you need to represent a date and time, such as a timestamp or a meeting time<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Use the C# DateOnly<\/code> type to work with the date-only data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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