Need parse dd.MM.yyyy to DateTime using TryParse

Question

I need to parse string to DateTime. The string is always in the following format

\"10.10.2010\" That means dd.MM.yyyy, separated with dots.

I want to use Dat

Answer 1

TryParse doesn't let you specify the format - but you can use TryParseExact:

DateTime date;
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(text, "dd'.'MM'.'yyyy",
                           CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
                           DateTimeStyles.None,
                           out date))
{
   // Success
}
else
{
   // Parse failed
}

Note that the dot doesn't strictly need to be escaped with the quotes, but personally I like to put any literal text in quotes just to make sure that it won't be changed. It's a personal preference thing though - you could certainly just use "dd.MM.yyyy" if you wanted.

Likewise I've specified the invariant culture which is what I normally do for a fixed custom style - but you could make it use the current culture or a specific other culture if you wanted. When you're using a custom style (rather than a standard style such as "long date") it's less likely to make any difference, admittedly.

Answer 2

You can use DateTime.TryParseExact

Answer 3

use DateTime.TryParseExact(...)

Answer 4

Why not use ParseExact instead?

var theDate = DateTime.ParseExact("dd.MM.yyyy", yourDateString, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);

Answer 5

I have found that jquery datepicker will add non-printable characters in the string. So, when you try to convert to another format, it will throw an invalid date error every time. In my case, I was just trying to convert it back to a time stamp from whatever culture the user was in at the time. It's a somewhat hacky approach, but it worked for me.

    static public string ToDigitsOnly(string input)
    {
        Regex digitsOnly = new Regex(@"[^\d]");
        return digitsOnly.Replace(input, "");
    }

    static private DateTime ConvertDateTimeToDate(string dateTimeString, String langCulture)
    {

        System.DateTime result;

        string[] dateString = dateTimeString.Split('/');


        try
        {
            if (langCulture != "en")
            {
                int Year = Convert.ToInt32(ToDigitsOnly(dateString[2]));
                int Month = Convert.ToInt32(ToDigitsOnly(dateString[1]));
                int Day = Convert.ToInt32(ToDigitsOnly(dateString[0]));
                result = new DateTime(Year, Month, Day, 00, 00, 00);
            }
           else
            {
                int Year = Convert.ToInt32(dateString[2]);
                int Month = Convert.ToInt32(dateString[0]);
                int Day = Convert.ToInt32(dateString[1]);
                result = new DateTime(Year, Month, Day, 00, 00, 00);
            }
        }
        catch
        {
            // last attempt 
            result = Convert.ToDateTime(dateTimeString, CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-US"));
        }

        return result;
    }

Answer 6

Use the TryParseExact method:

DateTime parsed;
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(yourString, "dd'.'MM'.'yyyy",
    CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out parsed))
{
    // success
}