How to Convert string "07:35" (HH:MM) to TimeSpan

Question

I would like to know if there is a way to convert a 24 Hour time formatted string to a TimeSpan.

Right now I have a "old fashion style":

string stringTime = "07:35";
string[] values = stringTime.Split(':');

TimeSpan ts = new TimeSpan(values[0], values[1], 0);

Answer 1

While correct that this will work:

TimeSpan time = TimeSpan.Parse("07:35");

And if you are using it for validation...

TimeSpan time;
if (!TimeSpan.TryParse("07:35", out time))
{
    // handle validation error
}

Consider that TimeSpan is primarily intended to work with elapsed time, rather than time-of-day. It will accept values larger than 24 hours, and will accept negative values also.

If you need to validate that the input string is a valid time-of-day (>= 00:00 and < 24:00), then you should consider this instead:

DateTime dt;
if (!DateTime.TryParseExact("07:35", "HH:mm", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, 
                                              DateTimeStyles.None, out dt))
{
    // handle validation error
}
TimeSpan time = dt.TimeOfDay;

As an added benefit, this will also parse 12-hour formatted times when an AM or PM is included, as long as you provide the appropriate format string, such as "h:mm tt".

Answer 2

Try

var ts = TimeSpan.Parse(stringTime);

With a newer .NET you also have

TimeSpan ts;

if(!TimeSpan.TryParse(stringTime, out ts)){
     // throw exception or whatnot
}
// ts now has a valid format

This is the general idiom for parsing strings in .NET with the first version handling erroneous string by throwing FormatException and the latter letting the Boolean TryParse give you the information directly.

Answer 3

Use TimeSpan.Parse to convert the string

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.timespan.parse(v=vs.110).aspx