Question

I have two nullable datetime objects, I want to compare both. What is the best way to do it?

I have already tried:

DateTime.Compare(birthDate, hireDate);

This is giving an error, maybe it is expecting dates of type System.DateTime and I have Nullable datetimes.

I have also tried:

birthDate > hiredate...

But the results are not as expected…any suggestions?

Answer 1

To compare two Nullable<T> objects use Nullable.Compare<T> like:

bool result = Nullable.Compare(birthDate, hireDate) > 0;

---

You can also do:

Use the Value property of the Nullable DateTime. (Remember to check if both object Has some values)

if ((birthDate.HasValue && hireDate.HasValue) 
    && DateTime.Compare(birthDate.Value, hireDate.Value) > 0)
{
}

If both values are Same DateTime.Compare will return you 0

Something Like

DateTime? birthDate = new DateTime(2000, 1, 1);
DateTime? hireDate = new DateTime(2013, 1, 1);
if ((birthDate.HasValue && hireDate.HasValue) 
    && DateTime.Compare(birthDate.Value, hireDate.Value) > 0)
{
}