Order List by Date and Time (in string format)

Question

Probably what I'm asking is quite simple but I don't seem to be getting this one out. I have a list of elements containing a Date field and a Time field. The Date field is a regular DateTime and the Time field is a string. Time is formatted like HH:mm and ranges in 24h.

Ordering my list by Date is simple by doing List.OrderBy(e => e.Date), but I don't seem to be able to later order it by Time so that the order of the records is according the date and the time.

I tried this out but it's probably a big mistake!

    List = List.OrderBy(e => e.EstimatedDate).OrderBy(e => new TimeSpan(int.Parse(e.EstimatedTime.Substring(0,e.EstimatedTime.LastIndexOf(":"))),int.Parse(e.EstimatedTime.Substring(e.EstimatedTime.LastIndexOf(":")+1)),0).TotalMinutes);

I hope someone can help me out with this one.

Answer 1

You want OrderBy(...).ThenBy(...); and also - not that if the time is in HH:mm you don't have to parse it - you can just sort it alphabetically, i.e.

List = List.OrderBy(e => e.EstimatedDate).ThenBy(e => e.EstimatedTime).ToList();

or via LINQ:

List = (from e in List
        orderby e.EstimatedDate, e.EstimatedTime
        select e).ToList();

Answer 2

why not try something like following:

List.OrderBy(e => e.Date).ThenBy(e => DateTime.Parse(e.Time));
// May need to change DateTime.Parse(e.Time) with appropriate conversion code