[c#] DateTime format to SQL format using C#

I am trying to save the current date time format from C# and convert it to an SQL Server date format like so yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss so I can use it for my UPDATE query.

This was my first code:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

The output on date is okay, but time is always "12:00:00" so I changed my code to the following:

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

It gave me this compile error:

FormatException was unhandled

And suggested I need to parse. So I tried doing this to my code as per my research here in StackOverflow:

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.Parse.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

or

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + 
myDateTime.tryParse.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss");

But it's telling me that it's a method which is not valid for given context. I tried searching for solutions to my problem and I have been stuck for two hours now. I'm still a bit new in C#, can you help me please?

Your problem is in the Date property that truncates DateTime to date only. You could put the conversion like this:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;

string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

If you wanna update a table with that DateTime, you can use your SQL string like this example:

int fieldId;
DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now
string sql = string.Format(@"UPDATE TableName SET DateFieldName='{0}' WHERE FieldID={1}", myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"), fieldId.ToString());

The correct answer was already given "use parameters". Formatting a date and passing it as a string to SQL-Server can lead to errors as it depends on the settings how the date is interpreted on the server side. In europe, we write '1.12.2012' to indicate december 1st 2012, whereas in other countries this might be treated as january 12th.

When issuing statements directly in SSMS I use the format yyyymmdd which seem to be quite general. I did not encounter any problems on the various installations I worked on so far.

There is another seldom used format, which is a bit weird but works for all versions:

select { d '2013-10-01' }

will return the first of october 2013.

select { ts '2013-10-01 13:45:01' }

will return october 1st, 1:45:01 PM

I strongly advice to use parameters and never format your own SQL code by pasting together homegrown formatted statement fragments. It is an entry for SQL injection and strange errors (formatting a float value is another potential issue)

Your problem is in the "Date" property that truncates DateTime to date only. You could put the conversion like this:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"); // <- No Date.ToString()!

Let's use the built in SqlDateTime class

new SqlDateTime(DateTime.Now).ToSqlString()

But still need to check for null values. This will throw overflow exception

new SqlDateTime(DateTime.MinValue).ToSqlString()

SqlDateTime overflow. Must be between 1/1/1753 12:00:00 AM and 12/31/9999 11:59:59 PM.

if you want to store current date in table so you can use

GETDATE();

or pass this function as a parameter

eg. 'update tblname set curdate=GETDATE() where colname=123'

Why not skip the string altogether :

SqlDateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;

Your first code will work by doing this

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"); //Remove myDateTime.Date part 

Another solution to pass DateTime from C# to SQL Server, irrespective of SQL Server language settings

supposedly that your Regional Settings show date as dd.MM.yyyy (German standard '104') then

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlServerDate = "CONVERT(date,'"+myDateTime+"',104)"; 

passes the C# datetime variable to SQL Server Date type variable, considering the mapping as per "104" rules . Sql Server date gets yyyy-MM-dd

If your Regional Settings display DateTime differently, then use the appropriate matching from the SQL Server CONVERT Table

see more about Rules: https://www.techonthenet.com/sql_server/functions/convert.php

   DateTime date1 = new DateTime();

    date1 = Convert.ToDateTime(TextBox1.Text);
    Label1.Text = (date1.ToLongTimeString()); //11:00 AM
    Label2.Text = date1.ToLongDateString(); //Friday, November 1, 2019;
    Label3.Text = date1.ToString();
    Label4.Text = date1.ToShortDateString();
    Label5.Text = date1.ToShortTimeString();

Using the standard datetime format "s" will also ensure internationalization compatibility (MM/dd versus dd/MM):

myDateTime.ToString("s");

=> 2013-12-31T00:00:00

Complete Options: (code: sample result)

d: 6/15/2008 
D: Sunday, June 15, 2008 
f: Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:15 PM 
F: Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:15:07 PM 
g: 6/15/2008 9:15 PM 
G: 6/15/2008 9:15:07 PM 
m: June 15 
o: 2008-06-15T21:15:07.0000000 
R: Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:15:07 GMT 
s: 2008-06-15T21:15:07 
t: 9:15 PM 
T: 9:15:07 PM 
u: 2008-06-15 21:15:07Z 
U: Monday, June 16, 2008 4:15:07 AM 
y: June, 2008 

'h:mm:ss.ff t': 9:15:07.00 P 
'd MMM yyyy': 15 Jun 2008 
'HH:mm:ss.f': 21:15:07.0 
'dd MMM HH:mm:ss': 15 Jun 21:15:07 
'\Mon\t\h\: M': Month: 6 
'HH:mm:ss.ffffzzz': 21:15:07.0000-07:00

Supported in .NET Framework: 4.6, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
Reference: DateTime.ToString Method

I think the problem was the two single quotes missing.

This is the sql I run to the MSSMS:

WHERE checktime >= '2019-01-24 15:01:36.000' AND checktime <= '2019-01-25 16:01:36.000'

As you can see there are two single quotes, so your codes must be:

string sqlFormattedDate = "'" + myDateTime.Date.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + myDateTime.TimeOfDay.ToString("HH:mm:ss") + "'";

Use single quotes for every string in MSSQL or even in MySQL. I hope this helps.

The Answer i was looking for was:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

I've also learned that you can do it this way:

DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now;
string sqlFormattedDate = myDateTime.ToString(myCountryDateFormat);

where myCountryDateFormat can be changed to meet change depending on requirement.

Please note that the tagged "This question may already have an answer here:" has not actually answered the question because as you can see it used a ".Date" instead of omitting it. It's quite confusing for new programmers of .NET

only you put "T"+DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString()+ '2015-02-23'