How can I convert nullable datetime to decimal in c#

Question

I am trying to convert a DateTime? value to Decimal . (Note: that DateTime? is Nullable )

From this format 4/1/2011 12:00:00 AM to this format (of Decimal type) 20110401 .

How can this be achieved?

Answer 1

Like this:

DateTime? myDateTime = GetDateTime();
Decimal.Parse(myDateTime.Value.ToString("yyyyMMdd"));

or:

DateTime myDateTime = GetDateTime();
Decimal.Parse(myDateTime.ToString("yyyyMMdd"));

Depending on if DateTime is Nullable or not.

But you really should consider storing it in some other fashion than Decimal it would be like storing a phone number as a Long , which you really shouldn't do . Mainly because mathematical operations don't make sense when performed on an object stored this way.

Answer 2

You may try this,,

DateTime? dateTime = DateTime.Today;
string dateStr = dateTime.ToString("MMddyyyy");
decimal dec = Convert.ToDecimal(dateStr);

Answer 3

You can do this with a little math:

DateTime? dt = DateTime.Today;
decimal d = dt.Value.Year*10000 + dt.Value.Month*100 + dt.Value.Day

...or convert it:

DateTime? dt = DateTime.Today;
decimal d = Convert.ToDecimal(dt.Value.ToString("yyyyMMdd"));

In case, you try to use this decimal value for sorting purposes, please consider that it is possible to order strings and DateTimes, too.

Answer 4

You can use ToBinary() to get a binary representation of the DateTime - this can, then, be assigned to a decimal .

DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
decimal dec = dt.ToBinary ();

This is the most straightforward conversion that doesn't involve converting to a string and back. If you're using a nullable date/time, just use the Value property to get the actual value out of it (with error checking, etc.)