DateTime format to SQL format using C#

Question

I am trying to save the current date time format from C# and convert it to an SQL Server date format like so yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss so I can use it for my UPDATE query.

This was my first code:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

The output on date is okay, but time is always "12:00:00" so I changed my code to the following:

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

It gave me this compile error:

FormatException was unhandled

And suggested I need to parse. So I tried doing this to my code as per my research here in StackOverflow:

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.Parse.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

or

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.tryParse.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

But it's telling me that it's a method which is not valid for given context. I tried searching for solutions to my problem and I have been stuck for two hours now. I'm still a bit new in C#, can you help me please?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2191120/net-datetime-to-sqldatetime-conversion — Kamil Budziewski, Jul 02 '13 at 05:53
Why not use a parameter to update the `DateTime` or are you storing it as a string ? Also `ToString` on `Date` would imply that time is always `12:00:00` — V4Vendetta, Jul 02 '13 at 05:56
You should use a **parametrized query** with a parameter of type `DATETIME` and then you could avoid doing all this converting back and forth to and from a string representation! — marc_s, Jul 02 '13 at 06:09
As others have said, using parameters and just keeping everything as a `datetime` would be a good start. Even better, why are you passing the server the *current* time - it has a `GETDATE()` function that can be called entirely on the server side. — Damien_The_Unbeliever, Jul 02 '13 at 06:36

score 296 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 09 '16 at 03:13

296

try this below

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff");

edited Jul 09 '16 at 03:13

Ben Gripka

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answered Jul 02 '13 at 05:55

Debajit Mukhopadhyay

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thank you very much i was trying string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.DateTime... for some reason this is what i wanna achieve. – Ace Caserya Jul 02 '13 at 06:03
My search in stackoverflow keeps referring me to a wrong reference although the question had been answer several times, newbies like me can't relate because of this. Sorry to All, I'll close the question as soon as I am able. – Ace Caserya Jul 02 '13 at 06:11
1

I think the C# "Sortable" format does the same thing. So you can just do myDateTime.ToString("s"); – ProVega Mar 24 '14 at 02:35
@ProVega it doesn't look the same (.ToString('s') has a T instead of a space between date and time) - but I can confirm that they're parsed the same by SQL server with or without the T (I'm on 2012). I've started using 's' as my logging datetime format, so I'll go with that I think, thanks! – Ian Grainger Mar 10 '16 at 16:01
3

Yeah, on the official page [CAST and CONVERT (Transact-SQL)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/cast-and-convert-transact-sql), they use the name "ODBC canonical" for the form with a space separating `yyyy-MM-dd` from the time of day, and the name "ISO8601" for the form where the separating character is a `T`. But yes, both forms convert implicitly (and correctly) to a `datetime`. – Jeppe Stig Nielsen Dec 17 '19 at 09:41
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Use `myDateTime.ToString("o");` instead, it has more percision than this answer and is literally described as "Round-trip date/time pattern" in the docs. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings – Deantwo Aug 20 '20 at 09:44
1000% works in c# – Sunil Mathari Jun 29 '22 at 07:16
In newer versions of .Net you can achieve the same like this: `myDateTime.StartDate:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss` – Alireza Sattari Jul 08 '23 at 21:50

score 59 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 14 '15 at 20:33

59

Using the standard datetime format "s" will also ensure internationalization compatibility (MM/dd versus dd/MM):

myDateTime.ToString("s");

=> 2013-12-31T00:00:00

Complete Options: (code: sample result)

d: 6/15/2008 
D: Sunday, June 15, 2008 
f: Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:15 PM 
F: Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:15:07 PM 
g: 6/15/2008 9:15 PM 
G: 6/15/2008 9:15:07 PM 
m: June 15 
o: 2008-06-15T21:15:07.0000000 
R: Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:15:07 GMT 
s: 2008-06-15T21:15:07 
t: 9:15 PM 
T: 9:15:07 PM 
u: 2008-06-15 21:15:07Z 
U: Monday, June 16, 2008 4:15:07 AM 
y: June, 2008 

'h:mm:ss.ff t': 9:15:07.00 P 
'd MMM yyyy': 15 Jun 2008 
'HH:mm:ss.f': 21:15:07.0 
'dd MMM HH:mm:ss': 15 Jun 21:15:07 
'\Mon\t\h\: M': Month: 6 
'HH:mm:ss.ffffzzz': 21:15:07.0000-07:00

Supported in .NET Framework: 4.6, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
Reference: DateTime.ToString Method

edited Jan 14 '15 at 20:33

t3chb0t

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answered Jan 02 '14 at 04:25

InActive

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This is not fine-grained enough (misses the milliseconds) and will get you into trouble in queries that rely on ordering by date. – reijerh Mar 09 '17 at 11:40
To get hours and minutes as well, you can use this conversion: **string sqlFormattedDate = YourDate.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);** – netfed Jan 21 '19 at 23:37
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Use `myDateTime.ToString("o");` instead, it has milliseconds and is literally described as "Round-trip date/time pattern" in the docs. `"s"` is only described as "Sortable date/time pattern" so I wouldn't suggest using it for this. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings – Deantwo Aug 20 '20 at 09:40

score 13 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 13 '20 at 15:49

13

Let's use the built in SqlDateTime class

new SqlDateTime(DateTime.Now).ToSqlString()

But still need to check for null values. This will throw overflow exception

new SqlDateTime(DateTime.MinValue).ToSqlString()

SqlDateTime overflow. Must be between 1/1/1753 12:00:00 AM and 12/31/9999 11:59:59 PM.

answered Jul 13 '20 at 15:49

mkb

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I would prefer if this solution worked for me, but I get "the conversion of a nvarchar data type to a datetime data type resulted in an out-of-range value" error when using it, so I had to resort to the .ToString() solution. – Kadaj Feb 17 '23 at 13:48
Interesting, I want to try it, can you add your code with input date value you used? – mkb Feb 18 '23 at 22:22

score 11 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 02 '13 at 06:34

The correct answer was already given "use parameters". Formatting a date and passing it as a string to SQL-Server can lead to errors as it depends on the settings how the date is interpreted on the server side. In europe, we write '1.12.2012' to indicate december 1st 2012, whereas in other countries this might be treated as january 12th.

When issuing statements directly in SSMS I use the format yyyymmdd which seem to be quite general. I did not encounter any problems on the various installations I worked on so far.

There is another seldom used format, which is a bit weird but works for all versions:

select { d '2013-10-01' }

will return the first of october 2013.

select { ts '2013-10-01 13:45:01' }

will return october 1st, 1:45:01 PM

I strongly advice to use parameters and never format your own SQL code by pasting together homegrown formatted statement fragments. It is an entry for SQL injection and strange errors (formatting a float value is another potential issue)

score 6 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 02 '13 at 05:59

6

Your problem is in the "Date" property that truncates DateTime to date only. You could put the conversion like this:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"); // <- No Date.ToString()!

edited Jul 02 '13 at 05:59

Soner Gönül

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answered Jul 02 '13 at 05:58

Dmitry Bychenko

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score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 02 '13 at 05:56

4

Your first code will work by doing this

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"); //Remove myDateTime.Date part

answered Jul 02 '13 at 05:56

Rajeev Kumar

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score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 30 '15 at 13:22

3

if you want to store current date in table so you can use

GETDATE();

or pass this function as a parameter

eg. 'update tblname set curdate=GETDATE() where colname=123'

answered Nov 30 '15 at 13:22

Manohar Patil

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It works even better as a default value on the SQL table. Unless you are using a framework that doesn't allow for use of default values. – Deantwo Aug 20 '20 at 09:46

Ace Caserya · Answer 8 · 2013-07-02T22:53:03.930

The Answer i was looking for was:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

I've also learned that you can do it this way:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString(myCountryDateFormat);

where myCountryDateFormat can be changed to meet change depending on requirement.

Please note that the tagged "This question may already have an answer here:" has not actually answered the question because as you can see it used a ".Date" instead of omitting it. It's quite confusing for new programmers of .NET

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 02 '13 at 23:12

1

Why not skip the string altogether :

SqlDateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;

answered Jul 02 '13 at 23:12

Steve D

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score 1 · Answer 10 · edited Sep 16 '15 at 19:34

1

Your problem is in the Date property that truncates DateTime to date only. You could put the conversion like this:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

edited Sep 16 '15 at 19:34

Beachhouse

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answered Aug 04 '15 at 05:38

nanthakumar

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Thanks. Just what I was looking for ;) Surprised Microsoft did not add a flag or command to do this more briefly. – Zeek2 Jul 22 '20 at 08:22

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Feb 11 '19 at 04:14

I think the problem was the two single quotes missing.

This is the sql I run to the MSSMS:

WHERE checktime >= '2019-01-24 15:01:36.000' AND checktime <= '2019-01-25 16:01:36.000'

As you can see there are two single quotes, so your codes must be:

string sqlFormattedDate = "'" + myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + myDateTime.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss") + "'";

Use single quotes for every string in MSSQL or even in MySQL. I hope this helps.

score -1 · Answer 12 · answered Jun 29 '15 at 01:38

-1

only you put "T"+DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString()+ '2015-02-23'

answered Jun 29 '15 at 01:38

Francisco Mier YTerán

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first the date XD date + "T" + DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString() – Francisco Mier YTerán Jun 29 '15 at 01:39

score -1 · Answer 13 · edited Aug 20 '20 at 12:04

-1

If you wanna update a table with that DateTime, you can use your SQL string like this example:

int fieldId;
DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now
string sql = string.Format(@"UPDATE TableName SET DateFieldName='{0}' WHERE FieldID={1}", myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"), fieldId.ToString());

edited Aug 20 '20 at 12:04

Deantwo

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answered Jul 03 '15 at 16:48

Rodrigo Uzcanga

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This question has already been answered and accepted with a more elegant solution. And you're missing a closing `"`. – Jan Jul 03 '15 at 17:06

score -2 · Answer 14 · edited Aug 21 '20 at 22:56

-2

Another solution to pass DateTime from C# to SQL Server, irrespective of SQL Server language settings

supposedly that your Regional Settings show date as dd.MM.yyyy (German standard '104') then

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlServerDate = "CONVERT(date,'"+myDateTime+"',104)";

passes the C# datetime variable to SQL Server Date type variable, considering the mapping as per "104" rules . Sql Server date gets yyyy-MM-dd

If your Regional Settings display DateTime differently, then use the appropriate matching from the SQL Server CONVERT Table

see more about Rules: https://www.techonthenet.com/sql_server/functions/convert.php

edited Aug 21 '20 at 22:56

Deantwo

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answered Nov 13 '18 at 08:25

George

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This will just call `ToString()` on the DateTime, which is culture setting specific. If the machine sending this SQL command is using another culture setting than the SQL server, the SQL server could mistake it for something else. Do not do this! See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.datetime.tostring?view=netcore-3.1#System_DateTime_ToString – Deantwo Aug 21 '20 at 13:41

score -2 · Answer 15 · answered Nov 19 '19 at 09:36

   DateTime date1 = new DateTime();

    date1 = Convert.ToDateTime(TextBox1.Text);
    Label1.Text = (date1.ToLongTimeString()); //11:00 AM
    Label2.Text = date1.ToLongDateString(); //Friday, November 1, 2019;
    Label3.Text = date1.ToString();
    Label4.Text = date1.ToShortDateString();
    Label5.Text = date1.ToShortTimeString();

DateTime format to SQL format using C#

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