• Article

DateTimeOffset.ToString Method (IFormatProvider)

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Converts the value of the current DateTimeOffset object to its equivalent string representation using the specified culture-specific formatting information.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Function ToString ( _
    formatProvider As IFormatProvider _
) As String

public string ToString(
    IFormatProvider formatProvider
)

Parameters

  • formatProvider
    Type: System.IFormatProvider
    An object that supplies culture-specific formatting information.

Return Value

Type: System.String
A string representation of the value of the current DateTimeOffset object, as specified by formatProvider.

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

The date and time is outside the range of dates supported by the calendar used by formatProvider.

Remarks

The return value of this method is identical to that of its equivalent overload of the DateTime.ToString method, except that it includes a space followed by the offset appended at the end of the string. In other words, it formats output using the short date pattern, the long time pattern, and the zzz custom format string, with each element separated from the previous element by a space.

The format of these three elements is defined by the formatProvider parameter. The formatProvider parameter can be either of the following:

If formatProvider is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), the DateTimeFormatInfo object associated with the current culture is used (see CurrentCulture).

Notes to Callers

The ToString(IFormatProvider) method returns the string representation of the date and time in the calendar used by the culture represented by the formatProvider parameter. Its calendar is defined by the Calendar property. If the value of the current DateTimeOffset instance is earlier than Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime or later than Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime, the method throws an ArgumentOutOfRangeException. The following example provides an illustration. It attempts to format a date that is outside the range of the JapaneseCalendar class.

Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      Dim jaJP As New CultureInfo("ja-JP")
      jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = New JapaneseCalendar()
      Dim date1 As New DateTimeOffset(#1/1/1867#, TimeSpan.Zero)

      Try
         outputBlock.Text &= date1.ToString(jaJP) & vbCrLf
      Catch e As ArgumentOutOfRangeException
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0:d} is earlier than {1:d} or later than {2:d}", _
                           date1, _
                           jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime, _
                           jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime) & vbCrLf
      End Try
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    1/1/1867 is earlier than 9/8/1868 or later than 12/31/9999

using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      CultureInfo jaJP = new CultureInfo("ja-JP");
      jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = new JapaneseCalendar();
      DateTimeOffset date1 = new DateTimeOffset(new DateTime(1867, 1, 1),
                                                TimeSpan.Zero);

      try
      {
         outputBlock.Text += date1.ToString(jaJP) + "\n";
      }
      catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException)
      {
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0:d} is earlier than {1:d} or later than {2:d}",
                           date1,
                           jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime,
                           jaJP.DateTimeFormat.Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime) + "\n";
      }
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    1/1/1867 is earlier than 9/8/1868 or later than 12/31/9999   }

Examples

The following example displays a DateTimeOffset object using CultureInfo objects that represent the invariant culture, as well as four other cultures.

Dim cultures() As CultureInfo = {CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, _
                                 New CultureInfo("en-us"), _
                                 New CultureInfo("fr-fr"), _
                                 New CultureInfo("de-DE"), _
                                 New CultureInfo("es-ES")}

Dim thisDate As New DateTimeOffset(#5/1/2007 9:00:00 AM#, TimeSpan.Zero)

For Each culture As CultureInfo In cultures
   Dim cultureName As String
   If String.IsNullOrEmpty(culture.Name) Then
      cultureName = culture.NativeName
   Else
      cultureName = culture.Name
   End If
   outputBlock.Text &= String.Format("In {0}, {1}", _
                     cultureName, thisDate.ToString(culture)) & vbCrLf
Next
' The example produces the following output:
'    In Invariant Language (Invariant Country), 05/01/2007 09:00:00 +00:00
'    In en-US, 5/1/2007 9:00:00 AM +00:00
'    In fr-FR, 01/05/2007 09:00:00 +00:00
'    In de-DE, 01.05.2007 09:00:00 +00:00
'    In es-ES, 01/05/2007 9:00:00 +00:00

CultureInfo[] cultures = new CultureInfo[] {CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, 
                                           new CultureInfo("en-us"), 
                                           new CultureInfo("fr-fr"), 
                                           new CultureInfo("de-DE"), 
                                           new CultureInfo("es-ES")};

DateTimeOffset thisDate = new DateTimeOffset(2007, 5, 1, 9, 0, 0,
                                             TimeSpan.Zero);

foreach (CultureInfo culture in cultures)
{
   string cultureName;
   if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(culture.Name))
      cultureName = culture.NativeName;
   else
      cultureName = culture.Name;

   outputBlock.Text += String.Format("In {0}, {1}",
                     cultureName, thisDate.ToString(culture)) + "\n";
}
// The example produces the following output:
//    In Invariant Language (Invariant Country), 05/01/2007 09:00:00 +00:00
//    In en-US, 5/1/2007 9:00:00 AM +00:00
//    In fr-FR, 01/05/2007 09:00:00 +00:00
//    In de-DE, 01.05.2007 09:00:00 +00:00
//    In es-ES, 01/05/2007 9:00:00 +00:00

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.