Date Class in C#

The DateTime class in C# is used to work with dates and times. It represents an instant in time, ranging from 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001 to 11:59:59 P.M., December 31, 9999 A.D. The DateTime class provides various methods and properties to create, manipulate, and format date and time values.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for creating a DateTime object −

DateTime variableName = new DateTime(year, month, day);
DateTime variableName = new DateTime(year, month, day, hour, minute, second);

To get the current date and time −

DateTime current = DateTime.Now;

Creating DateTime Objects

You can create DateTime objects by specifying year, month, and day values. You can also include hour, minute, and second components −

using System;

class Test {
    static void Main() {
        DateTime dt = new DateTime(2018, 7, 24);
        Console.WriteLine(dt.ToString());
        
        DateTime dtWithTime = new DateTime(2018, 7, 24, 14, 30, 45);
        Console.WriteLine(dtWithTime.ToString());
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

7/24/2018 12:00:00 AM
7/24/2018 2:30:45 PM

Getting Current Date and Time

The DateTime.Now property returns the current date and time of the system −

using System;

class Test {
    static void Main() {
        Console.WriteLine("Current Date and Time: " + DateTime.Now.ToString());
        Console.WriteLine("Current Date Only: " + DateTime.Today.ToString());
        Console.WriteLine("UTC Time: " + DateTime.UtcNow.ToString());
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Current Date and Time: 9/17/2018 5:49:21 AM
Current Date Only: 9/17/2018 12:00:00 AM
UTC Time: 9/17/2018 12:49:21 PM

Adding Time to DateTime

DateTime provides several methods to add time intervals like days, hours, minutes, and seconds −

using System;

class Test {
    static void Main() {
        DateTime dt1 = new DateTime(2018, 7, 23, 08, 20, 10);
        Console.WriteLine("Original Date: " + dt1.ToString());
        
        DateTime dt2 = dt1.AddDays(7);
        Console.WriteLine("After adding 7 days: " + dt2.ToString());
        
        DateTime dt3 = dt1.AddHours(5);
        Console.WriteLine("After adding 5 hours: " + dt3.ToString());
        
        DateTime dt4 = dt1.AddMonths(2);
        Console.WriteLine("After adding 2 months: " + dt4.ToString());
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Original Date: 7/23/2018 8:20:10 AM
After adding 7 days: 7/30/2018 8:20:10 AM
After adding 5 hours: 7/23/2018 1:20:10 PM
After adding 2 months: 9/23/2018 8:20:10 AM

Formatting DateTime

You can format DateTime objects using various format strings −

using System;

class Test {
    static void Main() {
        DateTime dt = new DateTime(2018, 7, 24, 14, 30, 45);
        
        Console.WriteLine("Default: " + dt.ToString());
        Console.WriteLine("Short Date: " + dt.ToString("d"));
        Console.WriteLine("Long Date: " + dt.ToString("D"));
        Console.WriteLine("Time: " + dt.ToString("T"));
        Console.WriteLine("Custom: " + dt.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"));
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Default: 7/24/2018 2:30:45 PM
Short Date: 7/24/2018
Long Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Time: 2:30:45 PM
Custom: 2018-07-24 14:30:45

Common DateTime Properties

Conclusion

The DateTime class in C# is essential for handling date and time operations. It provides comprehensive methods for creating, manipulating, and formatting dates and times, making it easy to work with temporal data in applications.