DateTime.ToString pattern to preserve even the smallest part

Question

I need to store exact DateTime as a filename, and restore it when needed. Pattern dd_MM_yyyy hh_mm_ss_ff tt doesn't seem to match the original date (after using DateTime.ParseExact, so I believe part of the date is lost upon conversion. Is ticks the smallest part of DateTime? How to save it to string as well?

Answer 1

I believe you want to reliably time-stamp your log file. Well, the format you provide will not be reliable, i.e. it will look different depending on Thread's CurrentCulture value.

I would recommend using something like "yyyy-MM-dd_HH:mm:ss.FFFFFFF" if you want to have precise and reliable time stamp.

Answer 2

Yes, ticks represent the smallest measurement on a DateTime.

String filename = DateTime.Now.Ticks + ".txt";