Convert string to DateTime in c#

Question

What is the easiest way to convert the following date created using

dateTime.ToString("yyyyMMddHHmmss", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture) 

into a proper DateTime object?

20090530123001 

I have tried Convert.ToDateTime(...) but got a FormatException.

Answer 1

Try this:

DateTime.ParseExact(str, "yyyyMMddHHmmss", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture); 

If the string may not be in the correct format (and you wish to avoid an exception) you can use the DateTime.TryParseExact method like this:

DateTime dateTime; DateTime.TryParseExact(str, "yyyyMMddHHmmss",     CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out dateTime); 

Answer 2

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/w2sa9yss.aspx

var date = DateTime.ParseExact(str, "yyyyMMddHHmmss", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)