Question

How can I verify that strings are in the format "dd.MM.yyyy HH:mm:ss.mmm"?

For example:

12.01.2011 13:26:10.000
13.05.2010 22:30:20.000

should be accepted, others should be rejected. I want to be able to do something like:

string c = "12.01.2011 13:26:10.000";

if (string.CompareFormat(c))
{
    // do something
}
else
{
    // do something else
}

Answer 1

You can use TryParseExact:

        string format = "dd.MM.yyyy HH:mm:ss.fff";
        string c = "12.01.2011 13:26:10.000";
        CultureInfo enUS = new CultureInfo("en-US");

        DateTime result;
        if (DateTime.TryParseExact(c, format, enUS, DateTimeStyles.None, out result))
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Right Format");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Wrong Format");                
        }