This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.

DateTime::Now Property

Updated: August 2010

Gets a DateTime object that is set to the current date and time on this computer, expressed as the local time.

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

public:
static property DateTime Now {
	DateTime get ();
}

Property Value

Type: System::DateTime
A DateTime whose value is the current local date and time.

The resolution of this property depends on the system timer.

System

Approximate Resolution

Windows NT 3.5 and later

10 milliseconds

Windows 98

55 milliseconds

The Now property is frequently used to measure performance. However, because of its low resolution, it is not suitable for use as a benchmarking tool. A better alternative is to use the Stopwatch class.

Starting with the .NET Framework version 2.0, the return value is a DateTime whose Kind property returns DateTimeKind::Local.

NoteNote:

You can also use the Now property to retrieve the current local date and time. It allows a local time to be expressed unambiguously as a single point in time, which in turn makes that time value portable across computers.

Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows CE Platform Note: In Windows CE, time is specific only to the second. You can get a more precise time span measurement, for example, in milliseconds, by using the TickCount property.

The following example uses the SpecifyKind method to demonstrate how the Kind property influences the ToLocalTime and ToUniversalTime conversion methods.

No code example is currently available or this language may not be supported.

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

Date

History

Reason

August 2010

Added a remark about measuring performance with the Stopwatch class.

Customer feedback.

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