c# - How to Convert string "07:35" (HH:MM) to TimeSpan

Question

I would like to know if there is a way to convert a 24 Hour time formatted string to a TimeSpan.

Right now I have a "old fashion style":

string stringTime = "07:35";
string[] values = stringTime.Split(':');

TimeSpan ts = new TimeSpan(values[0], values[1], 0);

Answer 1

While correct that this will work:

TimeSpan time = TimeSpan.Parse("07:35");

And if you are using it for validation...

TimeSpan time;
if (!TimeSpan.TryParse("07:35", out time))
{
    // handle validation error
}

Consider that TimeSpan is primarily intended to work with elapsed time, rather than time-of-day. It will accept values larger than 24 hours, and will accept negative values also.

If you need to validate that the input string is a valid time-of-day (>= 00:00 and < 24:00), then you should consider this instead:

DateTime dt;
if (!DateTime.TryParseExact("07:35", "HH:mm", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, 
                                              DateTimeStyles.None, out dt))
{
    // handle validation error
}
TimeSpan time = dt.TimeOfDay;

As an added benefit, this will also parse 12-hour formatted times when an AM or PM is included, as long as you provide the appropriate format string, such as "h:mm tt".