DateTime.MinValue Field (System)

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.NET Framework Class Library

DateTime.MinValue Field

Represents the smallest possible value of DateTime. This field is read-only.

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

Syntax

Visual Basic

Public Shared ReadOnly MinValue As DateTime

public static readonly DateTime MinValue

Visual C++

public:
static initonly DateTime MinValue

static val MinValue: DateTime

Remarks

The value of this constant is equivalent to 00:00:00.0000000, January 1, 0001.

MinValue defines the date and time that is assigned to an uninitialized DateTime variable. The following example illustrates this.

Visual Basic


' Define an uninitialized date.
Dim date1 As Date
Console.Write(date1)
If date1.Equals(Date.MinValue) Then _
   Console.WriteLine("  (Equals Date.MinValue)")
' The example displays the following output:
'    1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM  (Equals Date.MinValue)


// Define an uninitialized date.
DateTime date1 = new DateTime();
Console.Write(date1);
if (date1.Equals(DateTime.MinValue))
   Console.WriteLine("  (Equals Date.MinValue)");
// The example displays the following output:
//    1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM  (Equals Date.MinValue)

The MinValue and MaxValue properties can be used to ensure that a value lies within the supported range before passing it to a DateTime constructor. The code in the Example section illustrates this usage.

Examples

The following example instantiates a DateTime object by passing its constructor an Int64 value that represents a number of ticks. Before invoking the constructor, the example ensures that this value is greater than or equal to DateTime.MinValue.Ticks and less than or equal to DateTime.MinValue.Ticks. If not, it throws an ArgumentOutOfRangeException.

Visual Basic


' Attempt to assign an out-of-range value to a DateTime constructor.
Dim numberOfTicks As Long = Int64.MaxValue
Dim validDate As Date

' Validate the value.
If numberOfTicks >= Date.MinValue.Ticks And _
   numberOfTicks <= Date.MaxValue.Ticks Then
   validDate = New Date(numberOfTicks)
ElseIf numberOfTicks < Date.MinValue.Ticks Then
   Console.WriteLine("{0:N0} is less than {1:N0} ticks.", 
                     numberOfTicks, 
                     DateTime.MinValue.Ticks)      
Else                                                   
   Console.WriteLine("{0:N0} is greater than {1:N0} ticks.", 
                     numberOfTicks, 
                     DateTime.MaxValue.Ticks)     
End If
' The example displays the following output:
'   9,223,372,036,854,775,807 is greater than 3,155,378,975,999,999,999 ticks.


// Attempt to assign an out-of-range value to a DateTime constructor.
long numberOfTicks = Int64.MaxValue;
DateTime validDate;

// Validate the value.
if (numberOfTicks >= DateTime.MinValue.Ticks &&
    numberOfTicks <= DateTime.MaxValue.Ticks) 
   validDate = new DateTime(numberOfTicks);
else if (numberOfTicks < DateTime.MinValue.Ticks) 
   Console.WriteLine("{0:N0} is less than {1:N0} ticks.", 
                     numberOfTicks, 
                     DateTime.MinValue.Ticks);      
else
   Console.WriteLine("{0:N0} is greater than {1:N0} ticks.", 
                     numberOfTicks,
                     DateTime.MaxValue.Ticks);
// The example displays the following output:
//   9,223,372,036,854,775,807 is greater than 3,155,378,975,999,999,999 ticks.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Portable Class Library

Supported in: Portable Class Library

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Reference

DateTime Structure

System Namespace