What is the difference between Convert.ToBoolean(string) and Boolean.Parse(string)?

c# parsing boolean
mbrownnyc picture mbrownnyc · Aug 11, 2011 · Viewed 47.1k times · Source

What is the difference between the two methods

Convert.ToBoolean()

and

Boolean.Parse()?

Is there any reason to use one or the other?

Additionally, are there any other type.Parse() methods that I should watch out for?

Thanks,

Matt

Answer

dlev picture dlev · Aug 11, 2011

Convert.ToBoolean(string) actually calls bool.Parse() anyway, so for non-null strings, there's no functional difference. (For null strings, Convert.ToBoolean() returns false, whereas bool.Parse() throws an ArgumentNullException.)

Given that fact, you should use bool.Parse() when you're certain that your input isn't null, since you save yourself one null check.

Convert.ToBoolean() of course has a number of other overloads that allow you to generate a bool from many other built-in types, whereas Parse() is for strings only.

In terms of type.Parse() methods you should look out for, all the built-in numeric types have Parse() as well as TryParse() methods. DateTime has those, as well as the additional ParseExact()/TryParseExact() methods, which allow you specify an expected format for the date.

Related questions

How can I parse JSON with C#?

I have the following code: var user = (Dictionary<string, object>)serializer.DeserializeObject(responsecontent); The input in responsecontent is JSON, but it is not properly parsed into an object. How should I properly deserialize it?

Read More
Identify if a string is a number

If I have these strings: "abc" = false "123" = true "ab2" = false Is there a command, like IsNumeric() or something else, that can identify if a string is a valid number?

Read More
Read and parse a Json File in C#

I have spent the best part of two days "faffing" about with code samples and etc., trying to read a very large JSON file into an array in c# so I can later split it up into a 2d array …

Read More