Updated: July 2008
Represents the smallest possible value of DateTime. This field is read-only.
(in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Shared ReadOnly MinValue As DateTime
Dim value As DateTime
value = DateTime.MinValue
public static readonly DateTime MinValue
public:
static initonly DateTime MinValue
public static final var MinValue : DateTime
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.
' Define an unitialized date.
Dim date1 As Date
Console.Write(date1.ToString())
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 unitialized date.
DateTime date1 = new DateTime();
Console.Write(date1.ToString());
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.
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.
' 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
Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("ticks", _
String.Format("{0} is less than {1} ticks.", _
numberOfTicks, _
Date.MinValue.Ticks))
Else
Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("ticks", _
String.Format("{0} is greater than {1} ticks.", _
numberOfTicks, _
Date.MaxValue.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)
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("ticks",
String.Format("{0} is less than {1} ticks.",
numberOfTicks,
DateTime.MinValue.Ticks));
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("ticks",
String.Format("{0} is greater than {1} ticks.",
numberOfTicks,
DateTime.MaxValue.Ticks));
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
Reference
Date | History | Reason |
|---|
July 2008
| Added an example. |
Information enhancement.
|