Converting DateTime for MySQL Using C#

In C# programming, when working with MySQL databases, it is often necessary to convert DateTime values to a format that is accepted by MySQL. MySQL stores dates in the following format: 1976-04-09 22:10:00.

To convert a C# string containing a date value into the MySQL format, you can use the following approaches:

Method 1: ISO Format

One simple approach is to hard-code the ISO format for MySQL date and time:

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

Method 2: Using CultureInfo

Alternatively, you can use the CultureInfo class to obtain the correct format:

// Shorten the code
var isoDateTimeFormat = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture.DateTimeFormat;

// Convert to sortable date-time pattern
string convertedDate = dateValue.ToString(isoDateTimeFormat.SortableDateTimePattern);

// Convert to universal sortable date-time pattern
string convertedDate2 = dateValue.ToString(isoDateTimeFormat.UniversalSortableDateTimePattern);

These methods will convert the str string into the required MySQL format, ensuring compatibility with your database.