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DateTime.ToString Method (String, IFormatProvider)

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

Converts the value of the current DateTime object to its equivalent string representation using the specified format and culture-specific format information.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Function ToString ( _
    format As String, _
    provider As IFormatProvider _
) As String
public string ToString(
    string format,
    IFormatProvider provider
)

Parameters

  • format
    Type: System.String
    A standard or custom date and time format string (see Remarks).

Return Value

Type: System.String
A string representation of value of the current DateTime object, as specified by the format and provider parameters.

Implements

IFormattable.ToString(String, IFormatProvider)

Exceptions

Exception Condition
FormatException

The length of format is 1, and it is not one of the format specifier characters defined for DateTimeFormatInfo.

-or-

format does not contain a valid custom format pattern.

ArgumentOutOfRangeException

The date and time is outside the range of dates supported by the calendar used by provider.

Remarks

The format parameter can contain either a single format specifier character (see Standard Date and Time Format Strings) or a custom format pattern (see Custom Date and Time Format Strings). If format is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or an empty string (""), the standard format specifier, 'G', is used.

The provider parameter defines the pattern that corresponds to the standard format specifiers, as well as the symbols and names of date and time components. The provider parameter can be any of the following:

If provider is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), the DateTimeFormatInfo associated with the current culture is used. For more information, see CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.

Platform Notes

Silverlight for Windows Phone Silverlight for Windows Phone

 Silverlight for Windows Phone does not return the correct string for Russian dates. For example, 15.Июнь.2000 is returned instead of 15.июня.2000.

Notes to Callers

The ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method returns the string representation of the date and time in the calendar used by the provider parameter. Its calendar is defined by the Calendar property. If the value of the current DateTime instance is earlier than Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime or later than Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime, the method throws an ArgumentOutOfRangeException. The following example provides an illustration. It attempts to format a date that is outside the range of the UmAlQuraCalendar class.

Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      Dim arSA As New CultureInfo("ar-SA")
      arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = New UmAlQuraCalendar()
      Dim date1 As Date = #9/10/1890#

      Try
         outputBlock.Text &= date1.ToString("d", arSA) & vbCrLf
      Catch e As ArgumentOutOfRangeException
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0:d} is earlier than {1:d} or later than {2:d}", _
                           date1, _
                           arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime, _
                           arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime) & vbCrLf
      End Try
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    9/10/1890 is earlier than 4/30/1900 or later than 5/13/2029
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      CultureInfo arSA = new CultureInfo("ar-SA");
      arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = new UmAlQuraCalendar();
      DateTime date1 = new DateTime(1890, 9, 10);

      try
      {
         outputBlock.Text += date1.ToString("d", arSA) + "\n";
      }
      catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException)
      {
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0:d} is earlier than {1:d} or later than {2:d}",
                           date1,
                           arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime,
                           arSA.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime) + "\n";
      }
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    9/10/1890 is earlier than 4/30/1900 or later than 5/13/2029

Examples

The following example uses each of the standard date time format strings to display the string representation of a date and time for four different cultures.

Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Dcd emo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      ' Create an array of all supported standard date and time format specifiers.
      Dim formats() As String = {"d", "D", "f", "F", "g", "G", "m", "o", "r", _
                                 "s", "t", "T", "u", "U", "Y"}
      ' Create an array of four cultures.                                 
      Dim cultures() As CultureInfo = {CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("de-DE"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-US"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("es-ES"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")}
      ' Define date to be displayed.
      Dim dateToDisplay As Date = #10/1/2008 5:04:32 PM#

      ' Iterate each standard format specifier.
      For Each formatSpecifier As String In formats
         For Each culture As CultureInfo In cultures
            outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0} Format Specifier {1, 10} Culture {2, 40}", _
                              formatSpecifier, culture.Name, _
                              dateToDisplay.ToString(formatSpecifier, culture)) & vbCrLf
         Next
         outputBlock.Text &= vbCrLf
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    d Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01.10.2008
'    d Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                10/1/2008
'    d Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01/10/2008
'    d Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                               01/10/2008
'    
'    D Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008
'    D Format Specifier      en-US Culture              Wednesday, October 01, 2008
'    D Format Specifier      es-ES Culture         miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008
'    D Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                  mercredi 1 octobre 2008
'    
'    f Format Specifier      de-DE Culture          Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04
'    f Format Specifier      en-US Culture      Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04 PM
'    f Format Specifier      es-ES Culture   miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04
'    f Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04
'    
'    F Format Specifier      de-DE Culture       Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04:32
'    F Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04:32 PM
'    F Format Specifier      es-ES Culture miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04:3
'    F Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture         mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04:32
'    
'    g Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                         01.10.2008 17:04
'    g Format Specifier      en-US Culture                        10/1/2008 5:04 PM
'    g Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
'    g Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
'    
'    G Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      01.10.2008 17:04:32
'    G Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     10/1/2008 5:04:32 PM
'    G Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
'    G Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
'    
'    m Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01 Oktober
'    m Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               October 01
'    m Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01 octubre
'    m Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                1 octobre
'    
'    o Format Specifier      de-DE Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      en-US Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      es-ES Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    
'    r Format Specifier      de-DE Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      en-US Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      es-ES Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    
'    s Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      en-US Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    
'    t Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                    17:04
'    t Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                  5:04 PM
'    t Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                    17:04
'    t Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                    17:04
'    
'    T Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                 17:04:32
'    T Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               5:04:32 PM
'    T Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                 17:04:32
'    T Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                 17:04:32
'    
'    u Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    
'    U Format Specifier      de-DE Culture     Donnerstag, 2. Oktober 2008 00:04:32
'    U Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:04:32 AM
'    U Format Specifier      es-ES Culture    jueves, 02 de octubre de 2008 0:04:32
'    U Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            jeudi 2 octobre 2008 00:04:32
'    
'    Y Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                             Oktober 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      en-US Culture                            October, 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                          octubre de 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                             octobre 2008
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      // Create an array of all supported standard date and time format specifiers.
      string[] formats = {"d", "D", "f", "F", "g", "G", "m", "o", "r", 
                          "s", "t", "T", "u", "U", "Y"};
      // Create an array of four cultures.                                 
      CultureInfo[] cultures = {CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("de-DE"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-US"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("es-ES"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")};
      // Define date to be displayed.
      DateTime dateToDisplay = new DateTime(2008, 10, 1, 17, 4, 32);

      // Iterate each standard format specifier.
      foreach (string formatSpecifier in formats)
      {
         foreach (CultureInfo culture in cultures)
            outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0} Format Specifier {1, 10} Culture {2, 40}",
                              formatSpecifier, culture.Name,
                              dateToDisplay.ToString(formatSpecifier, culture)) + "\n";
         outputBlock.Text += "\n";
      }
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    d Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01.10.2008
//    d Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                10/1/2008
//    d Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01/10/2008
//    d Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                               01/10/2008
//    
//    D Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008
//    D Format Specifier      en-US Culture              Wednesday, October 01, 2008
//    D Format Specifier      es-ES Culture         miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008
//    D Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                  mercredi 1 octobre 2008
//    
//    f Format Specifier      de-DE Culture          Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04
//    f Format Specifier      en-US Culture      Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04 PM
//    f Format Specifier      es-ES Culture   miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04
//    f Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04
//    
//    F Format Specifier      de-DE Culture       Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04:32
//    F Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04:32 PM
//    F Format Specifier      es-ES Culture miércoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04:3
//    F Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture         mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04:32
//    
//    g Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                         01.10.2008 17:04
//    g Format Specifier      en-US Culture                        10/1/2008 5:04 PM
//    g Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
//    g Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
//    
//    G Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      01.10.2008 17:04:32
//    G Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     10/1/2008 5:04:32 PM
//    G Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
//    G Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
//    
//    m Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01 Oktober
//    m Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               October 01
//    m Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01 octubre
//    m Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                1 octobre
//    
//    o Format Specifier      de-DE Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      en-US Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      es-ES Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    
//    r Format Specifier      de-DE Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      en-US Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      es-ES Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    
//    s Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      en-US Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    
//    t Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                    17:04
//    t Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                  5:04 PM
//    t Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                    17:04
//    t Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                    17:04
//    
//    T Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                 17:04:32
//    T Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               5:04:32 PM
//    T Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                 17:04:32
//    T Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                 17:04:32
//    
//    u Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    
//    U Format Specifier      de-DE Culture     Donnerstag, 2. Oktober 2008 00:04:32
//    U Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:04:32 AM
//    U Format Specifier      es-ES Culture    jueves, 02 de octubre de 2008 0:04:32
//    U Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            jeudi 2 octobre 2008 00:04:32
//    
//    Y Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                             Oktober 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      en-US Culture                            October, 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                          octubre de 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                             octobre 2008

The following example demonstrates different ways of formatting a DateTime value using the invariant DateTimeFormatInfo.

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On

Imports System.Globalization

Public Class Example

   Public Shared Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      Dim dt As DateTime = DateTime.Now
      Dim myformat() As String = {"d", "D", _
                                  "f", "F", _
                                  "g", "G", _
                                  "m", _
                                  "r", _
                                  "s", _
                                  "t", "T", _
                                  "u", "U", _
                                  "y", _
                                  "dddd, MMMM dd yyyy", _
                                  "ddd, MMM d ""'""yy", _
                                  "dddd, MMMM dd", _
                                  "M/yy", _
                                  "dd-MM-yy"}
      Dim mydate As String
      Dim i As Integer
      For i = 0 To myformat.Length - 1
         mydate = dt.ToString(myformat(i), DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo)
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format(String.Concat(myformat(i), " :", mydate)) & vbCrLf
      Next i

      ' Output.
      '
      ' d :08/17/2000
      ' D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
      ' f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
      ' F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
      ' g :08/17/2000 16:32
      ' G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
      ' m :August 17
      ' r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
      ' s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
      ' t :16:32
      ' T :16:32:32
      ' u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
      ' U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
      ' y :August, 2000
      ' dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
      ' ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
      ' dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
      ' M/yy :8/00
      ' dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
   End Sub 'Main 
End Class 'MainClass
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
      String[] format = {
            "d", "D",
            "f", "F",
            "g", "G",
            "m",
            "r",
            "s",
            "t", "T",
            "u", "U",
            "y",
            "dddd, MMMM dd yyyy",
            "ddd, MMM d \"'\"yy",
            "dddd, MMMM dd",
            "M/yy",
            "dd-MM-yy",
        };
      String date;
      for (int i = 0; i < format.Length; i++)
      {
         date = dt.ToString(format[i], DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo);
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format(String.Concat(format[i], " :", date)) + "\n";
      }

      /** Output.
       *
       * d :08/17/2000
       * D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
       * f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
       * F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
       * g :08/17/2000 16:32
       * G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
       * m :August 17
       * r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
       * s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
       * t :16:32
       * T :16:32:32
       * u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
       * U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
       * y :August, 2000
       * dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
       * ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
       * dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
       * M/yy :8/00
       * dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
       */
   }
}

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.