my c# program selects a datetime field from database and returns the data like the following:
21/06/2012 4:11:48 p.m.
it is not stored this way though (it’s stored like 2012/06/21 15:19:10:000).
my locale is set to English/New Zealand
but when I try to save it back to database
the ISDATE() sql function doesn’t like that format and just returns NULL. Do I have any options to set the time format in sql or c#? What in sql or c# is making it put “p.m.”? (instead of just “PM”, which by the way works)
Summing up the problem
You shouldn’t be saving it in the database as text at all – you should be using the relevant data type such as
DATETIME, and passingDateTimevalues from .NET to the database using SQL parameters. If you’re using the right data type, the value won’t actually be stored as “2012/06/21 15:19:10:000” at all. That may be how you see it in SQL Server Studio or something similar, but that doesn’t mean it’s the raw storage format.Logically, a date/time doesn’t have a format any more than the number ten is “10” (decimal) vs “A” (hex). Avoid string conversions as far as you can, and your life will be easier.