TimeSpan.ToString Method (String, IFormatProvider)

public string ToString(
	string format,
	IFormatProvider formatProvider
)

Implements

The format parameter can be any valid standard or custom format specifier for TimeSpan values. If format is equal to String.Empty or is null, the return value of the current TimeSpan object is formatted with the common format specifier ("c"). If format is any other value, the method throws a FormatException.

Important
The custom format strings for TimeSpan values do not include a date or time separator. If you want to include these elements in your format string, you must treat them as character literals. See the example for an illustration, and see the Custom TimeSpan Format Strings topic for more information.

The .NET Framework provides extensive formatting support, which is described in greater detail in the following formatting topics:

• For more information about format strings for TimeSpan values, see Standard TimeSpan Format Strings and Custom TimeSpan Format Strings.

• For more information about support for formatting in the .NET Framework, see Formatting Types.

The formatProvider parameter is an IFormatProvider implementation that provides culture-specific information about the format of the returned string. The formatProvider parameter can be any of the following:

• A CultureInfo object that represents the culture whose formatting conventions are to be reflected in the returned string. The DateTimeFormatInfo object retuned by the CultureInfo.DateTimeFormat property defines the formatting of the returned string.

• A DateTimeFormatInfo object that defines the formatting of the returned string.

• A custom object that implements the IFormatProvider interface. Its IFormatProvider.GetFormat method returns a DateTimeFormatInfo object that provides formatting information.

If formatProvider is null, the DateTimeFormatInfo object that is associated with the current culture is used. If format is a custom format string, the formatProvider parameter is ignored.

The following example calls the ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method to format two time intervals. The example calls the method twice for each format string, first to display it using the conventions of the en-US culture and then to display it using the conventions of the fr-FR culture.

using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      TimeSpan[] intervals = { new TimeSpan(38, 30, 15), 
                               new TimeSpan(16, 14, 30) }; 
      CultureInfo[] cultures = { new CultureInfo("en-US"), 
                                 new CultureInfo("fr-FR") };
      string[] formats = {"c", "g", "G", @"hh\:mm\:ss" };
      Console.WriteLine("{0,12}      Format  {1,22}  {2,22}\n", 
                        "Interval", cultures[0].Name, cultures[1].Name);

      foreach (var interval in intervals) {
         foreach (var fmt in formats)
            Console.WriteLine("{0,12}  {1,10}  {2,22}  {3,22}", 
                              interval, fmt, 
                              interval.ToString(fmt, cultures[0]), 
                              interval.ToString(fmt, cultures[1]));
         Console.WriteLine();
      }  
   }
}
// The example displays the following output: 
//        Interval      Format                   en-US                   fr-FR 
//     
//      1.14:30:15           c              1.14:30:15              1.14:30:15 
//      1.14:30:15           g              1:14:30:15              1:14:30:15 
//      1.14:30:15           G      1:14:30:15.0000000      1:14:30:15,0000000 
//      1.14:30:15  hh\:mm\:ss                14:30:15                14:30:15 
//     
//        16:14:30           c                16:14:30                16:14:30 
//        16:14:30           g                16:14:30                16:14:30 
//        16:14:30           G      0:16:14:30.0000000      0:16:14:30,0000000 
//        16:14:30  hh\:mm\:ss                16:14:30                16:14:30

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

Portable Class Library

.NET for Windows Store apps

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

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

Reference

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