DateTime formatting in .Net for MySQL database

Question

How do I format the string result of DateTime.Now in C# for insertion into a MySQL database table column of type DATETIME?

I have tried the following without any success:

insert blah 
  (Id, Content, DateCreated) 
  select 123, 'Blah blah blah', 1/5/2010 9:04:58 PM

insert blah 
  (Id, Content, DateCreated) 
  select 123, 'Blah blah blah', '1/5/2010 9:04:58 PM'

Answer 1

Don't put literal dates in the query, use parameters instead. That way you don't have to worry about the format. It is also safer for strings entered by users, because it prevents SQL injections.

command.Text = "insert into myTable(myDate) values(?dateParam)";
command.Parameters.Add("?dateParam", theDate);

Answer 2

Use a parameterized MySqlCommand rather than building your own query and pass a DateTime to as the parameter. No formatting necessary.