Convert String to DateTime

Question

I have a string like this:

"20090212"

and I want to convert to valid C# datetime.

Do I need to parse it out because that seems too much work?

Answer 1

Have a look at the DateTime.TryParseExact method (MSDN). I prefer TryParseExact method to the ParseExact method because it returns a boolean telling you whether or not the conversion was successful instead of throwing an exception but either one will work.

Answer 2

You can use DateTime.ParseExact:

DateTime result =
    DateTime.ParseExact("20090212", "yyyyMMdd", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);

Answer 3

DateTime.ParseExact(str, "yyyyMMdd", CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);

... and I really doubt I got there first.

Although for completeness, I prefer TryParseExact

DateTime dt;
if(DateTime.TryParseExact(str, "yyyyMMdd", CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out dt)) { 
  // ... use the variable dt 
}