C# DateTime.Now (Current Time)

Get the current time with the DateTime.Now property. The current day is part of Now.

DateTime.Now. This returns the current time and day. The struct it returns can be stored as a field or property in a class. This property is useful.Property

More details. We look into this property and its implementation. We find out where DateTime.Now accesses the operating system for the current time.

First example. DateTime.Now is a static property. We do not call it on an instance of the DateTime struct. This code example uses DateTime.Now, and stores it as a property in a class.Class

Info: We see the "now" variable being assigned to DateTime.Now. This variable contains the timestamp of the current DateTime.

WriteLine: When you pass the "now" local to Console.WriteLine, it will be printed to the screen.

Console

Tip: The final lines of the example use the collection initializer syntax to set the HiringDate property to the DateTime.Now value.

C# program that uses DateTime.Now using System; class Program { class Employee { public DateTime HiringDate { get; set; } } static void Main() { // Write the current date and time. // ... Access DateTime.Now. DateTime now = DateTime.Now; Console.WriteLine("NOW: " + now); // Store a DateTime in a class. // ... It no longer will be "now" as it is just a value in memory. Employee employee = new Employee() { HiringDate = now }; Console.WriteLine("HIRING DATE: " + employee.HiringDate); } } Output NOW: 8/7/2019 10:37:05 AM HIRING DATE: 8/7/2019 10:37:05 AM

Copy. How are DateTime variables copied? When you assign a local variable to DateTime.Now, the internal value of DateTime.Now is copied.

And: Your local variable will remain constant unless you reassign it. Its value will not change in any other way.

Here: We pause (using Thread.Sleep) between assigning a local DateTime and then displaying it again. The values printed are the same.

Sleep

C# program that assigns to DateTime.Now using System; class Program { static void Main() { DateTime now = DateTime.Now; // <-- Value is copied into local Console.WriteLine(now); System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(10000); // // This variable has the same value as before. // Console.WriteLine(now); } } Output 2/25/2011 11:12:13 AM

Format. It is hard to display dates in the exact way you want them. In this respect, DateTime.Now is simply a regular DateTime, with no special meaning.DateTime Format

Internals. Normally, properties in C# are retrieved based on a field that does not change and is fast to access. DateTime.Now is a property, but it is much slower and always changes.

Therefore: Some experts regard DateTime.Now as a mistake. Please see the book CLR via C# (Second Edition) by Jeffrey Richter.

Performance. If you are working on a high-performance application, and need to use DateTime.Now, do not call it multiple times. Instead, cache it in a variable and pass that as a parameter.

Today. DateTime.Today is just like Now except it does not have a time. Instead it just has the day. The time part is initialized to zero.DateTime.Today

A summary. DateTime.Now accesses the current time. When you assign your variable to DateTime.Now, the value is copied and will not update later. But it is not fast like a normal property.DateTime

The Dev Codes

.Net

.NET Array Dictionary List String 2D Async DataTable Dates DateTime Enum File For Foreach Format IEnumerable If IndexOf Lambda LINQ Parse Path Process Property Regex Replace Sort Split Static StringBuilder Substring Switch Tuple

Java

Core Array ArrayList HashMap String 2D Cast Character Console Deque Duplicates File For Format HashSet If IndexOf Lambda Math ParseInt Process Random Regex Replace Sort Split StringBuilder Substring Switch Vector While

TheDeveloperBlog.com

C# DateTime.Now (Current Time)

Related Links:

.Net

Java

Related Links