Algorithm to detect overlapping periods [duplicate]

Answer 1

How about a custom interval-tree structure? You'll have to tweak it a little bit to define what it means for two intervals to "overlap" in your domain.

This question might help you find an off-the-shelf interval-tree implementation in C#.

Answer 2

I'm building a booking system and found this page. I'm interested in range intersection only, so I built this structure; it is enough to play with DateTime ranges.

You can check Intersection and check if a specific date is in range, and get the intersection type and the most important: you can get intersected Range.

public struct DateTimeRange
{

    #region Construction
    public DateTimeRange(DateTime start, DateTime end) {
        if (start>end) {
            throw new Exception("Invalid range edges.");
        }
        _Start = start;
        _End = end;
    }
    #endregion

    #region Properties
    private DateTime _Start;

    public DateTime Start {
        get { return _Start; }
        private set { _Start = value; }
    }
    private DateTime _End;

    public DateTime End {
        get { return _End; }
        private set { _End = value; }
    }
    #endregion

    #region Operators
    public static bool operator ==(DateTimeRange range1, DateTimeRange range2) {
        return range1.Equals(range2);
    }

    public static bool operator !=(DateTimeRange range1, DateTimeRange range2) {
        return !(range1 == range2);
    }
    public override bool Equals(object obj) {
        if (obj is DateTimeRange) {
            var range1 = this;
            var range2 = (DateTimeRange)obj;
            return range1.Start == range2.Start && range1.End == range2.End;
        }
        return base.Equals(obj);
    }
    public override int GetHashCode() {
        return base.GetHashCode();
    }
    #endregion

    #region Querying
    public bool Intersects(DateTimeRange range) {
        var type = GetIntersectionType(range);
        return type != IntersectionType.None;
    }
    public bool IsInRange(DateTime date) {
        return (date >= this.Start) && (date <= this.End);
    }
    public IntersectionType GetIntersectionType(DateTimeRange range) {
        if (this == range) {
            return IntersectionType.RangesEqauled;
        }
        else if (IsInRange(range.Start) && IsInRange(range.End)) {
            return IntersectionType.ContainedInRange;
        }
        else if (IsInRange(range.Start)) {
            return IntersectionType.StartsInRange;
        }
        else if (IsInRange(range.End)) {
            return IntersectionType.EndsInRange;
        }
        else if (range.IsInRange(this.Start) && range.IsInRange(this.End)) {
            return IntersectionType.ContainsRange;
        }
        return IntersectionType.None;
    }
    public DateTimeRange GetIntersection(DateTimeRange range) {
        var type = this.GetIntersectionType(range);
        if (type == IntersectionType.RangesEqauled || type==IntersectionType.ContainedInRange) {
            return range;
        }
        else if (type == IntersectionType.StartsInRange) {
            return new DateTimeRange(range.Start, this.End);
        }
        else if (type == IntersectionType.EndsInRange) {
            return new DateTimeRange(this.Start, range.End);
        }
        else if (type == IntersectionType.ContainsRange) {
            return this;
        }
        else {
            return default(DateTimeRange);
        }
    }
    #endregion


    public override string ToString() {
        return Start.ToString() + " - " + End.ToString();
    }
}
public enum IntersectionType
{
    /// <summary>
    /// No Intersection
    /// </summary>
    None = -1,
    /// <summary>
    /// Given range ends inside the range
    /// </summary>
    EndsInRange,
    /// <summary>
    /// Given range starts inside the range
    /// </summary>
    StartsInRange,
    /// <summary>
    /// Both ranges are equaled
    /// </summary>
    RangesEqauled,
    /// <summary>
    /// Given range contained in the range
    /// </summary>
    ContainedInRange,
    /// <summary>
    /// Given range contains the range
    /// </summary>
    ContainsRange,
}

Answer 3

I don't believe that the framework itself has this class. Maybe a third-party library...

But why not create a Period value-object class to handle this complexity? That way you can ensure other constraints, like validating start vs end datetimes. Something like:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

namespace Whatever.Domain.Timing {
    public class Period {
        public DateTime StartDateTime {get; private set;}
        public DateTime EndDateTime {get; private set;}

        public Period(DateTime StartDateTime, DateTime EndDateTime) {
            if (StartDateTime > EndDateTime)
                throw new InvalidPeriodException("End DateTime Must Be Greater Than Start DateTime!");
            this.StartDateTime = StartDateTime;
            this.EndDateTime = EndDateTime;
        }


        public bool Overlaps(Period anotherPeriod){
            return (this.StartDateTime < anotherPeriod.EndDateTime && anotherPeriod.StartDateTime < this.EndDateTime)
        }

        public TimeSpan GetDuration(){
            return EndDateTime - StartDateTime;
        }

    }

    public class InvalidPeriodException : Exception {
        public InvalidPeriodException(string Message) : base(Message) { }    
    }
}

That way you will be able to individually compare each period...

Answer 4

This is my solution:

public static bool OverlappingPeriods(DateTime aStart, DateTime aEnd,
                                      DateTime bStart, DateTime bEnd)
{
    if (aStart > aEnd)
        throw new ArgumentException("A start can not be after its end.");

    if(bStart > bEnd)
        throw new ArgumentException("B start can not be after its end.");

    return !((aEnd < bStart && aStart < bStart) ||
                (bEnd < aStart && bStart < aStart));
}

I unit tested it with 100% coverage.

Answer 5

You can create a reusable Range pattern class :

public class Range<T> where T : IComparable
{
    readonly T min;
    readonly T max;

    public Range(T min, T max)
    {
        this.min = min;
        this.max = max;
    }

    public bool IsOverlapped(Range<T> other)
    {
        return Min.CompareTo(other.Max) < 0 && other.Min.CompareTo(Max) < 0;
    }

    public T Min { get { return min; } }
    public T Max { get { return max; } }
}

You can add all methods you need to merge ranges, get intersections and so on...

Answer 6

Check this simple method (It is recommended to put This method in your dateUtility

public static bool isOverlapDates(DateTime dtStartA, DateTime dtEndA, DateTime dtStartB, DateTime dtEndB)
        {
            return dtStartA < dtEndB && dtStartB < dtEndA;
        }