Question

Whats the best way to get a datetime from sql server and convert it to use friendly strings like so:

if its more than 1 day > 1 Day ago.
more than 7 days > 1 weeks ago
1 year ago
3 minutes ago
56 seconds ago.

etc. Can this be done easily?

Answer 1

Your best bet is to make a DateTime extension method:

public static class DateTimeExtensions
{
    public static string ToRelative(this DateTime value)
    {        
        DateTime now = DateTime.Now; //maybe UtcNow if you're into that

        TimeSpan span = new TimeSpan(now.Ticks - value.Ticks);
        double seconds = Math.Abs(ts.TotalSeconds);

        if (seconds < 60)
            return string.Format("{0} seconds ago", span.Seconds);

        if (seconds < 2700)
            return string.Format("{0} minutes ago", span.Minutes);

        if (seconds < 86400)
            return string.Format("{0} hours ago", span.Hours);

        // repeat for greater "ago" times...
    }
}

Then make your call on your DateTime value like so:

myDateTime.ToRelative();