datetime.parse and making it work with a specific format

c# asp.net .net-2.0
anonym0use picture anonym0use · Dec 4, 2008 · Viewed 143.6k times · Source

I have a datetime coming back from an XML file in the format:

20080916 11:02

as in

yyyymm hh:ss

How can i get the datetime.parse function to pick up on this? Ie parse it without erroring? Cheers

Answer

Blair Conrad picture Blair Conrad · Dec 4, 2008 
DateTime.ParseExact(input,"yyyyMMdd HH:mm",null);

assuming you meant to say that minutes followed the hours, not seconds - your example is a little confusing.

The ParseExact documentation details other overloads, in case you want to have the parse automatically convert to Universal Time or something like that.

As @Joel Coehoorn mentions, there's also the option of using TryParseExact, which will return a Boolean value indicating success or failure of the operation - I'm still on .Net 1.1, so I often forget this one.

If you need to parse other formats, you can check out the Standard DateTime Format Strings.

Related questions

How to call a VBScript file in a C# application?

I need to call a VBScript file (.vbs file extension) in my C# Windows application. How can I do this? There is an add-in to access a VBScript file in Visual Studio. But I need to access the script in …

Read More
Execute javascript function after asp.net postback without Ajax

I wish to execute a javascript function after asp.net postback with out using ajax. I've tried the following in my even method with no luck: Page.ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(GetType(), "ShowPopup", "showCheckOutPopIn('Livraison',556);");

Read More
Check if object is NOT of type (!= equivalent for "IS") - C#

This works just fine: protected void txtTest_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) { if (sender is TextBox) {...} } Is there a way to check if sender is NOT a TextBox, some kind of an equivalent of != for "is"? Please, don't suggest moving …

Read More