Entity Framework DateTime and UTC

Question

Here is one approach you might consider:

First, define this following attribute:

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class DateTimeKindAttribute : Attribute
{
    private readonly DateTimeKind _kind;

    public DateTimeKindAttribute(DateTimeKind kind)
    {
        _kind = kind;
    }

    public DateTimeKind Kind
    {
        get { return _kind; }
    }

    public static void Apply(object entity)
    {
        if (entity == null)
            return;

        var properties = entity.GetType().GetProperties()
            .Where(x => x.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime) || x.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime?));

        foreach (var property in properties)
        {
            var attr = property.GetCustomAttribute<DateTimeKindAttribute>();
            if (attr == null)
                continue;

            var dt = property.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime?)
                ? (DateTime?) property.GetValue(entity)
                : (DateTime) property.GetValue(entity);

            if (dt == null)
                continue;

            property.SetValue(entity, DateTime.SpecifyKind(dt.Value, attr.Kind));
        }
    }
}

Now hook that attribute up to your EF context:

public class MyContext : DbContext
{
    public DbSet<Foo> Foos { get; set; }

    public MyContext()
    {
        ((IObjectContextAdapter)this).ObjectContext.ObjectMaterialized +=
            (sender, e) => DateTimeKindAttribute.Apply(e.Entity);
    }
}

Now on any DateTime or DateTime? properties, you can apply this attribute:

public class Foo
{
    public int Id { get; set; }

    [DateTimeKind(DateTimeKind.Utc)]
    public DateTime Bar { get; set; }
}

With this in place, whenever Entity Framework loads an entity from the database, it will set the DateTimeKind that you specify, such as UTC.

Note that this doesn't do anything when saving. You'll still have to have the value properly converted to UTC before you try to save it. But it does allow you to set the kind when retrieving, which allows it to be serialized as UTC, or converted to other time zones with TimeZoneInfo.

For EF Core, there is a great discussion on this topic on GitHub: https://github.com/dotnet/efcore/issues/4711

A solution (credit to Christopher Haws) that will result in treating all dates when storing them to/retrieving them from database as UTC is to add the following to the OnModelCreating method of your DbContext class:

var dateTimeConverter = new ValueConverter<DateTime, DateTime>(
    v => v.ToUniversalTime(),
    v => DateTime.SpecifyKind(v, DateTimeKind.Utc));

var nullableDateTimeConverter = new ValueConverter<DateTime?, DateTime?>(
    v => v.HasValue ? v.Value.ToUniversalTime() : v,
    v => v.HasValue ? DateTime.SpecifyKind(v.Value, DateTimeKind.Utc) : v);

foreach (var entityType in builder.Model.GetEntityTypes())
{
    if (entityType.IsKeyless)
    {
        continue;
    }

    foreach (var property in entityType.GetProperties())
    {
        if (property.ClrType == typeof(DateTime))
        {
            property.SetValueConverter(dateTimeConverter);
        }
        else if (property.ClrType == typeof(DateTime?))
        {
            property.SetValueConverter(nullableDateTimeConverter);
        }
    }
}

Also, check this link if you want to exclude some properties of some entities from being treated as UTC.

I really like Matt Johnson's approach, but in my model ALL of my DateTime members are UTC and I don't want to have to decorate all of them with an attribute. So I generalized Matt's approach to allow the event handler to apply a default Kind value unless a member is explicitly decorated with the attribute.

The constructor for the ApplicationDbContext class includes this code:

/// <summary> Constructor: Initializes a new ApplicationDbContext instance. </summary>
public ApplicationDbContext()
        : base(MyApp.ConnectionString, throwIfV1Schema: false)
{
    // Set the Kind property on DateTime variables retrieved from the database
    ((IObjectContextAdapter)this).ObjectContext.ObjectMaterialized +=
      (sender, e) => DateTimeKindAttribute.Apply(e.Entity, DateTimeKind.Utc);
}

DateTimeKindAttribute looks like this:

/// <summary> Sets the DateTime.Kind value on DateTime and DateTime? members retrieved by Entity Framework. Sets Kind to DateTimeKind.Utc by default. </summary>
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class DateTimeKindAttribute : Attribute
{
    /// <summary> The DateTime.Kind value to set into the returned value. </summary>
    public readonly DateTimeKind Kind;

    /// <summary> Specifies the DateTime.Kind value to set on the returned DateTime value. </summary>
    /// <param name="kind"> The DateTime.Kind value to set on the returned DateTime value. </param>
    public DateTimeKindAttribute(DateTimeKind kind)
    {
        Kind = kind;
    }

    /// <summary> Event handler to connect to the ObjectContext.ObjectMaterialized event. </summary>
    /// <param name="entity"> The entity (POCO class) being materialized. </param>
    /// <param name="defaultKind"> [Optional] The Kind property to set on all DateTime objects by default. </param>
    public static void Apply(object entity, DateTimeKind? defaultKind = null)
    {
        if (entity == null) return;

        // Get the PropertyInfos for all of the DateTime and DateTime? properties on the entity
        var properties = entity.GetType().GetProperties()
            .Where(x => x.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime) || x.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime?));

        // For each DateTime or DateTime? property on the entity...
        foreach (var propInfo in properties) {
            // Initialization
            var kind = defaultKind;

            // Get the kind value from the [DateTimekind] attribute if it's present
            var kindAttr = propInfo.GetCustomAttribute<DateTimeKindAttribute>();
            if (kindAttr != null) kind = kindAttr.Kind;

            // Set the Kind property
            if (kind != null) {
                var dt = (propInfo.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime?))
                    ? (DateTime?)propInfo.GetValue(entity)
                    : (DateTime)propInfo.GetValue(entity);

                if (dt != null) propInfo.SetValue(entity, DateTime.SpecifyKind(dt.Value, kind.Value));
            }
        }
    }
}

This answer works with Entity Framework 6

The accepted answer does not work for Projected or Anonymous object. Performance could be a problem too.

To achieve this, we need to use a DbCommandInterceptor, an object provided by EntityFramework.

Create Interceptor:

public class UtcInterceptor : DbCommandInterceptor
{
    public override void ReaderExecuted(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<DbDataReader> interceptionContext)
    {
        base.ReaderExecuted(command, interceptionContext);

        if (interceptionContext?.Result != null && !(interceptionContext.Result is UtcDbDataReader))
        {
            interceptionContext.Result = new UtcDbDataReader(interceptionContext.Result);
        }
    }
}

interceptionContext.Result is DbDataReader, which we replace by ours

public class UtcDbDataReader : DbDataReader
{
    private readonly DbDataReader source;

    public UtcDbDataReader(DbDataReader source)
    {
        this.source = source;
    }

    public override DateTime GetDateTime(int ordinal)
    {
        return DateTime.SpecifyKind(source.GetDateTime(ordinal), DateTimeKind.Utc);
    }        

    // you need to fill all overrides. Just call the same method on source in all cases

    public new void Dispose()
    {
        source.Dispose();
    }

    public new IDataReader GetData(int ordinal)
    {
        return source.GetData(ordinal);
    }
}

Register the interceptor in your DbConfiguration

internal class MyDbConfiguration : DbConfiguration
{
    protected internal MyDbConfiguration ()
    {           
        AddInterceptor(new UtcInterceptor());
    }
}

Finally, register the configuration for on your DbContext

[DbConfigurationType(typeof(MyDbConfiguration ))]
internal class MyDbContext : DbContext
{
    // ...
}

That's it. Cheers.

For simplicity, here is the entire implementation of DbReader:

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.Common;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace MyNameSpace
{
    /// <inheritdoc />
    [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Design", "CA1010:CollectionsShouldImplementGenericInterface")]
    [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Naming", "CA1710:IdentifiersShouldHaveCorrectSuffix")]
    public class UtcDbDataReader : DbDataReader
    {
        private readonly DbDataReader source;

        public UtcDbDataReader(DbDataReader source)
        {
            this.source = source;
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int VisibleFieldCount => source.VisibleFieldCount;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int Depth => source.Depth;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int FieldCount => source.FieldCount;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool HasRows => source.HasRows;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool IsClosed => source.IsClosed;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int RecordsAffected => source.RecordsAffected;

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override object this[string name] => source[name];

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override object this[int ordinal] => source[ordinal];

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool GetBoolean(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetBoolean(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override byte GetByte(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetByte(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override long GetBytes(int ordinal, long dataOffset, byte[] buffer, int bufferOffset, int length)
        {
            return source.GetBytes(ordinal, dataOffset, buffer, bufferOffset, length);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override char GetChar(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetChar(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override long GetChars(int ordinal, long dataOffset, char[] buffer, int bufferOffset, int length)
        {
            return source.GetChars(ordinal, dataOffset, buffer, bufferOffset, length);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override string GetDataTypeName(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetDataTypeName(ordinal);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns datetime with Utc kind
        /// </summary>
        public override DateTime GetDateTime(int ordinal)
        {
            return DateTime.SpecifyKind(source.GetDateTime(ordinal), DateTimeKind.Utc);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override decimal GetDecimal(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetDecimal(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override double GetDouble(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetDouble(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override IEnumerator GetEnumerator()
        {
            return source.GetEnumerator();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Type GetFieldType(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetFieldType(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override float GetFloat(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetFloat(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Guid GetGuid(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetGuid(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override short GetInt16(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetInt16(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int GetInt32(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetInt32(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override long GetInt64(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetInt64(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override string GetName(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetName(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int GetOrdinal(string name)
        {
            return source.GetOrdinal(name);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override string GetString(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetString(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override object GetValue(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetValue(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int GetValues(object[] values)
        {
            return source.GetValues(values);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool IsDBNull(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.IsDBNull(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool NextResult()
        {
            return source.NextResult();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override bool Read()
        {
            return source.Read();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override void Close()
        {
            source.Close();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override T GetFieldValue<T>(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetFieldValue<T>(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Task<T> GetFieldValueAsync<T>(int ordinal, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            return source.GetFieldValueAsync<T>(ordinal, cancellationToken);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Type GetProviderSpecificFieldType(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetProviderSpecificFieldType(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override object GetProviderSpecificValue(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetProviderSpecificValue(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override int GetProviderSpecificValues(object[] values)
        {
            return source.GetProviderSpecificValues(values);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override DataTable GetSchemaTable()
        {
            return source.GetSchemaTable();
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Stream GetStream(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetStream(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override TextReader GetTextReader(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetTextReader(ordinal);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Task<bool> IsDBNullAsync(int ordinal, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            return source.IsDBNullAsync(ordinal, cancellationToken);
        }

        /// <inheritdoc />
        public override Task<bool> ReadAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            return source.ReadAsync(cancellationToken);
        }

        [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Design", "CA1063:ImplementIDisposableCorrectly")]
        [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Usage", "CA1816:CallGCSuppressFinalizeCorrectly")]
        public new void Dispose()
        {
            source.Dispose();
        }

        public new IDataReader GetData(int ordinal)
        {
            return source.GetData(ordinal);
        }
    }
}

I believe I've found a solution that doesn't require any custom UTC checking or DateTime manipulation.

Basically you need to change your EF entities to use DateTimeOffset (NOT DateTime) datatype. This will store the time zone with the date value in the database (SQL Server 2015 in my case).

When EF Core requests the data from the DB it will receive the timezone info as well. When you pass this data to a web application (Angular2 in my case) the date is automatically converted to the local timezone of the browser which is what I expect.

And when it is passed back to my server it is converted to UTC again automatically, also as expected.