Formatting Dates
Custom and standard formats.
Why Format Dates
A raw DateTime prints using your machine's default culture, which may not be what you want.
Formatting lets you control exactly how a date appears: 2024-03-05, 05/03/2024, or Tuesday, March 5. C# gives you both standard and custom format strings.
ToString with a Pattern
The most flexible tool is ToString with a custom format string. Each letter stands for a part of the date.
For example, "yyyy-MM-dd" produces a year-month-day layout that sorts cleanly and is easy to read.
using System;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
DateTime d = new DateTime(2024, 3, 5);
Console.WriteLine(d.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd"));
}
}All lessons in this course
- Creating DateTimes
- Formatting Dates
- TimeSpan and Durations
- Date Math