How to parse string in the format "20150129163809" to datetime?

Question

I my application I need to convert a string in the datetime format as below:

var k=    DateTime.Parse("20150129163809");

But its throwing up an error message that "String was not recognized as a valid DateTime."

But, when I do

DateTime.Parse("2015-01-29 16:38:09")

its working fine...

What could be wrong?

You need to custom parse the string into the form you expect in the second example. There is no other way. — Travis J, Apr 14 '15 at 16:24

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 14 '15 at 16:25

9

Use ParseExact to parse well-formatted strings:

var k = DateTime.ParseExact("20150129163809","yyyyMMddHHmmss",CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);

DateTime.Parse is fairly limited in its capabilities and does not try and "guess" what format the string is in.

answered Apr 14 '15 at 16:25

D Stanley

1 Answers1