Convert Strings to DateTime in C# - DateTime Parsing:

C# includes the DateTime.Parse and DateTime.TryParse methods to convert strings to DateTime objects. The first one throws an exception if the string format is incorrect, while the second handles parsing errors without causing program termination.

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Example of DateTime.Parse
        string dateStr = "2024-01-12";
        DateTime parsedDate = DateTime.Parse(dateStr);
        Console.WriteLine(parsedDate);

        // Example of DateTime.TryParse
        string invalidDateStr = "NotADate";
        if (DateTime.TryParse(invalidDateStr, out DateTime result))
        {
            Console.WriteLine(result);
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Invalid date format");
        }
    }
}

Output:

1/12/2024 12:00:00 AM
Invalid date format

Using DateTime.ParseExact:

When using specific date formats, DateTime.ParseExact allows you to define the exact format of the input string using a format specifier.

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string dateStr = "2024-01-12";
        DateTime parsedDate = DateTime.ParseExact(dateStr, "yyyy-MM-dd", null);
        Console.WriteLine(parsedDate);
    }
}

Output:

1/12/2024 12:00:00 AM

Handling Time Zones:

When working with DateTime objects, it's important to consider time zones. C# provides the DateTimeOffset structure to include time zone information.

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string dateStr = "2024-01-12T10:30:00+02:00";
        DateTimeOffset parsedDate = DateTimeOffset.Parse(dateStr);
        Console.WriteLine(parsedDate);
    }
}

Output:

1/12/2024 10:30:00 AM +02:00