Formatting subtracted dates c#

Question

I am trying to subtract two dates from each other in c#. My current code looks like this:

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    System.DateTime matchStart = new System.DateTime(2012, 10, 17, 20, 00, 00);
    System.DateTime currentDateTime = new System.DateTime(2012, 10, 9, 14, 00, 00);

    System.TimeSpan matchCountdown = matchStart.Subtract(currentDateTime);

    countdown.Text = matchCountdown.ToString();
}

This currently gives me the result "8.06:00:00". What I am trying to do however, is to get the time difference formatted so it says "8 days, 6 hours, 0 minutes". How on earth do I get on about doing this?

Any help is much appreciated!

You can use the `-` minus operator, no need to call the `Subtract` method. — dahvyd, Oct 09 '12 at 09:15
Take a look at this answer: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/842057/how-do-i-convert-a-timespan-to-a-formatted-string — Tomas McGuinness, Oct 09 '12 at 09:21

Tim Schmelter · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-09T09:26:55.103

5

You can use String.Format and the TimeSpan properties.

String.Format("{0} days, {1} hours, {2} minutes"
    , matchCountdown.Days
    , matchCountdown.Hours
    , matchCountdown.Minutes);

Here's the demo: http://ideone.com/i8SKX

edited Oct 09 '12 at 09:26

answered Oct 09 '12 at 09:12

Tim Schmelter

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Need to truncate those doubles. – spender Oct 09 '12 at 09:13
@spender agreed, should probably `"{0:n0} days, {1:n0} hours, {2:n0} minutes"` – Manatherin Oct 09 '12 at 09:14
@spender: The properties above like [`TimeSpan.Days`](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.timespan.days.aspx) are all `ints`. Have [a look](http://ideone.com/i8SKX). – Tim Schmelter Oct 09 '12 at 09:28

Formatting subtracted dates c#

1 Answers1