I am having some trouble with constructors in a C# assignment. The first block of code below contains some of the instructions for the assignment. Essentially, as I understand it, I am to create two constructors, one for setting a default date, and another for checking a date from the user. Also, there is a SetDate method that seems to be doing the same thing. These seem redundant, yet according to the assignment instructions, both are required. I am VERY new to object-oriented programming so I am not sure how to "pass" stuff to a constructor or really how to use it and call it in the main method. The second block of code is what I have written so far. All of the date validation methods seem fine. But, I have no idea what to do with the public Date(int M, int D, int Y) constructor and the SetDate method. What should each of these be doing? Also, why am I being instructed to use integer variables M, D, Y when I am also being told to declare Month, Day, and Year above? Any insight that might aid me in understanding how to use this Constructer and how it relates and differs in function from the SetDate method would be greatly appreciated.
//Create a Date Class
//This class holds:
private int Month;
private int Day;
private int Year;
//Include the following constructors/methods. Include others/more if you
//need them.
// Sets date to 1/1/1900
public Date()
// Sets date to user’s input.
// Checks to see the date is valid
// If it isn’t valid, print message and set date to 1/1/1900
public Date(int M, int D, int Y)
// Sets date to user’s input.
// Checks to see the date is valid
// If it isn’t valid, print message and set date to 1/1/1900
public Boolean SetDate(int M, int D, int Y)ere
//******************************************************************************
class Date
{
private int Month;
private int Day;
private int Year;
// Sets date to 1/1/1900
public Date()
{
Month = 1;
Day = 1;
Year = 1900;
}
public Date(int M, int D, int Y)
{
Month = M;
Day = D;
Year = Y;
}
public Boolean SetDate(int M, int D, int Y)
{
int valDate = 0;
Console.WriteLine("You will be prompted to enter three(3) numbers to represent a month, " +
"day, and year. Only dates between 1/1/1900 and 12/31/2100 are valid.");
Console.WriteLine("");
while (valDate < 1)
{
Console.WriteLine("Enter the number for the month.");
M = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
Console.WriteLine("");
Console.WriteLine("Enter the number for the day.");
D = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
Console.WriteLine("");
Console.WriteLine("Enter the number for the year.");
Y = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
Console.WriteLine("");
ValidateDate();
if (ValidateDate())
{
DisplayDate();
valDate++;
return true;
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Please enter a valid date.");
Console.WriteLine("");
Month = 1;
Day = 1;
Year = 1900;
return false;
}
}
return false;
}
// Determines if date is valid.
public Boolean ValidateDate()
{
ValidateMonth();
ValidateDay();
ValidateYear();
if (ValidateMonth() && ValidateDay() && ValidateYear())
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
// Determines if month is valid.
public Boolean ValidateMonth()
{
if (Month >= 1 && Month <= 12)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
// Determines if year is valid.
public Boolean ValidateYear()
{
if(Year >= 1900 && Year <= 2100)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
// Determines if day is valid
public Boolean ValidateDay()
{
IsLeapYear();
if(Month == 1 || Month == 3 || Month == 5 || Month == 7 || Month == 8 || Month == 10 || Month == 12)
{
if (Day >= 1 && Day <= 31)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
else if (Month == 4 || Month == 6 || Month == 9 || Month == 11)
{
if (Day >= 1 && Day <= 30)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
else if (Month == 2 && IsLeapYear())
{
if (Day >= 1 && Day <= 29)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
else if (Month == 2 && !IsLeapYear())
{
if (Day >= 1 && Day <= 28)
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
// Determine if year is a leap year
public Boolean IsLeapYear()
{
if ((Year % 4 == 0 && Year % 100 != 0) || (Year % 400 == 0))
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
// Print date to screen in format M/D/Y
public void DisplayDate()
{
Console.WriteLine(ShowDate());
}
public String ShowDate()
{
StringBuilder myStringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
myStringBuilder.AppendFormat("{0} / {1} / {2}", Month, Day, Year);
return (myStringBuilder.ToString());
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Date NewDate = new Date();
NewDate.Date();
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
It looks like you've been asked to create a method and a constructor that are doing the same thing. The simple thing to do in this case is to have the constructor call the method.
The only comment I would make about your code is that the problem statement you showed did not require the input to be gathered in the SetDate method. Given the statement it seems like the input from the user would be gathered outside your class.
I don't know what your requirements are for the failure message. That might make sense in it's own method as well.
Here is an example:
public class Date
{
private int Month;
private int Day;
private int Year;
public Date()
{
SetDefaultDate();
}
public Date(int M, int D, int Y)
{
SetDate(M, D, Y);
}
public void SetDate(int M, int D, int Y)
{
if (IsValidDate(M, D, Y))
{
Month = M;
Day = D;
Year = Y;
}
else
{
SetDefaultDate();
}
}
private bool IsValidDate(int M, int D, int Y)
{
// validation logic.. return true if all parameters result in valid date
// false if they do not. If it is an invalid date print the failure message.
return true;
}
private void SetDefaultDate()
{
Month = 1;
Day = 1;
Year = 1900;
}
}
If you want to make some real application using date then i'd suggesting taking look at the DateTime struct in System namespace. That has TryParse function which will return you true or false whether if the input was valid or not.
However it seems like you're doing some programming exercise so in that case my answer would be: It's not very good to have arguments in constructor which could lead to an invalid object - in your case invalid date. That's because once calling the constructor you will have an object in one way or another, except if you throw exception in constructor. Yet if you still want to have it like that then you need to have a property or public variable called "IsValid" in the class/struct which tells if valid date was given with constructor.
Nicer option is follow the DateTime approach - have a public static function which return valid Date object. Like this:
public bool TryParse(int m, int d, int y, out Date date)
{
// validate
// if valid then return Date object like that:
date = new Date()
{
Month = m,
Day = d,
Year = y
};
return true;
// Or like that:
date = new Date(m, d, y);
return true;
// if not valid then return null (because have to return something)
date = null;
return false;
}
Related
I am trying to call the GetMonths() method during the Row_Inserting() method but it shows me an error. Also, how do I copy the value of this method to a variable named Total_Pay?
public override bool Row_Inserting(OrderedDictionary rsold, ref OrderedDictionary rsnew)
{
GetMonths(FROM_DATE, TO_DATE);
return true;
}
public int GetMonths(DateTime FROM_DATE, DateTime TO_DATE)
{
if (FROM_DATE > TO_DATE)
{
throw new Exception("Start Date is greater than the End Date");
}
int months = ((TO_DATE.Year * 12) + TO_DATE.Month) - ((FROM_DATE.Year * 12) + FROM_DATE.Month);
if (TO_DATE.Day >= FROM_DATE.Day)
{
months++;
}
return months;
}
Hope this helps..
public override bool Row_Inserting(OrderedDictionary rsold, ref OrderedDictionary rsnew)
{
int Total_Pay;
DateTime FROM_DATE = DateTime.Parse("02-May-2016"); //Replace with date you need
DateTime TO_DATE = DateTime.Parse("08-May-2016"); //Replace with date you need
Total_Pay = GetMonths(FROM_DATE, TO_DATE);
return true;
}
public int GetMonths(DateTime FROM_DATE, DateTime TO_DATE)
{
if (FROM_DATE > TO_DATE)
{
throw new Exception("Start Date is greater than the End Date");
}
int months = ((TO_DATE.Year * 12) + TO_DATE.Month) - ((FROM_DATE.Year * 12) + FROM_DATE.Month);
if (TO_DATE.Day >= FROM_DATE.Day)
{
months++;
}
return months;
}
And checkout this similar question Link
I have created a Date program which should return the user the date when inputted. I have not been using DateTime, as I wanted to create my own Date class instead. For some reason within my if statements my value does not seem to be working within my main for some reason. Is there any way around this problem?
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace date
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("please enter date as dd/MM/yyyy");
int day;
int month;
int year;
string[] read = Console.ReadLine().Split('/');
day = int.Parse(read[0]);
month = int.Parse(read[1]);
year = int.Parse(read[2]);
Date i = new Date(day, month, year);
Console.WriteLine("{0}/{1}/{2}", i.day, i.month, i.year);
Console.ReadLine();
}
class Date
{
public int month; // 1-12
public int day; // 1-31 depending on month
public int year
{
get;
private set;
}
public Date(int day, int month, int year)
{
this.day = day;
this.month = month;
this.year = year;
}
public int Year
{
get { return year; }
set
{
if (value > 0 && value <= 12)
month = value;
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("year", value, "year out of range");
}
}
private int Month
{
get { return month; }
set
{
if (value > 0 && value <= 12)
month = value;
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("Month", value, "Month must be 1-12");
}
}
public int Day
{
get { return day; }
set
{
int[] days = { 0, 31, 28, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31 };
if (value > 0 && value <= days[month])
day = value;
else if (month == 2 && value == 29 &&
year % 400 == 0 || (year % 4 == 0 && year % 100 != 0))
day = value;
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("days", value, "day is out of range");
}
}
}
}
}
You are using member variables, not properties as you intended
Console.WriteLine("{0}/{1}/{2}", i.Day, i.Month, i.Year);
changed the .day to .Day
Refactored your code a little bit. This way, it will do all the validations when you try setting the values. Setters can be made private, as you might only allow the user to set thing via constructor.
class Date
{
private int _month; // 1-12
private int _day; // 1-31 depending on month
private int _year;
public Date(int day, int month, int year)
{
Day = day;
Month = month;
Year = year;
}
public int Year
{
get { return _year; }
set
{
_year = value;
//Do you checks and throw exception as needed
//throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("year", value, "year out of range");
}
}
public int Month
{
get { return _month; }
set
{
if (value > 0 && value <= 12)
_month = value;
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("Month", value, "Month must be 1-12");
}
}
public int Day
{
get { return _day; }
set
{
int[] days = { 0, 31, 28, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31 };
if (value > 0 && value <= days[_month])
_day = value;
else if (_month == 2 && value == 29 &&
_year % 400 == 0 || (_year % 4 == 0 && _year % 100 != 0))
_day = value;
else
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("Day", value, "Day is out of range");
}
}
}
I don't have reputation enough to comment. So I answer: Lacked the leap year in your date class.
Besides learning a new language there is no reason in C# to reinvent new Date classes.
It is one of the biggest mistakes coming from the C++ ages before an official string type was there. Everybody had its own string class. We have now about 6 in our software with code to convert between all of them.
So my advise: Don't do this and instead try to read the documentation because most of the functionality is there. If it isn't there, please create extension methods and at last resort derive oder embed the existing class.
I want to allow the user to enter the year in blank but I don´t know where to put \s\s\s\s in the following expression.
Here is an example of what I need to do: if the user inserts 03-07-_____ the program must be executed every 3Th of July of each year(and it proceeds the same way if the user inserts blank date, month or year or twoo of this three)
System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex rdate =
new System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex(#"^((((0?[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01]|\s\s|\s\d)[\-](0?[13578]|1[02]|\s\s)[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0?[1-9]|[12]\d|30)[\-](0?[13456789]|1[012])[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0?[1-9]|1\d|2[0-8])[\-]0?2[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|(29[\-]0?2[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?(0[48]|[2468][048]|[13579][26])|((16|[2468][048]|[3579][26])00)|00)))|(((0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])(0[13578]|1[02])((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0[1-9]|[12]\d|30)(0[13456789]|1[012])((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0[1-9]|1\d|2[0-8])02((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|(2902((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?(0[48]|[2468][048]|[13579][26])|((16|[2468][048]|[3579][26])00)|00))))$");
Could someone help me?(this expression validates even a leap year)
Here is what You asked for
System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex rdate =
new System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex(#"^((((0?[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01]|\s\s|\s\d)[\-](0?[13578]|1[02]|\s\s)[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}|\s\s\s\s))|((0?[1-9]|[12]\d|30)[\-](0?[13456789]|1[012])[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}|\s\s\s\s))|((0?[1-9]|1\d|2[0-8])[\-]0?2[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}|\s\s\s\s))|(29[\-]0?2[\-]((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?(0[48]|[2468][048]|[13579][26])|((16|[2468][048]|[3579][26])00)|00|\s\s\s\s)))|(((0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])(0[13578]|1[02])((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0[1-9]|[12]\d|30)(0[13456789]|1[012])((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|((0[1-9]|1\d|2[0-8])02((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?\d{2}))|(2902((1[6-9]|[2-9]\d)?(0[48]|[2468][048]|[13579][26])|((16|[2468][048]|[3579][26])00)|00))))$");
But I am not sure it is what You really want. The regex was already patched, I continued the way. But not only it is maintenance nightmare, it behaves strange. It accepts empty day, but only when month is january, march, may... or empty. Less lines of code is not always better. I would suggest to rewrite it completely. Something simmilar to this:
protected DateTime? getDateTimeFromParts(string day, string month, string year)
{
DateTime now = DateTime.Now;
int iyear;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(year))
{
iyear = now.Year;
}
else
{
iyear = int.Parse(year);
if (iyear >= 0 && iyear < 100) { iyear += 2000; }
}
int imonth;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(month))
{
imonth = now.Month;
}
else
{
imonth = int.Parse(month);
}
int iday;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(day))
{
iday = now.Day;
}
else
{
iday = int.Parse(day);
}
if (iyear <= DateTime.MaxValue.Year && iyear >= DateTime.MinValue.Year)
{
if (imonth >= 1 && imonth <= 12)
{
if (DateTime.DaysInMonth(iyear, imonth) >= iday && iday >= 1)
return new DateTime(iyear, imonth, iday);
}
}
return null;
}
protected DateTime? getDateTime(string dateStr)
{
Regex r = new Regex(#"^(\d\d)(\d\d)((\d\d)?\d\d)$");
Match m = r.Match(dateStr);
if (m.Success)
{
return getDateTimeFromParts(m.Groups[1].Value, m.Groups[2].Value, m.Groups[3].Value);
}
r = new Regex(#"^(\d?\d|\s\d|\s\s)[-](\d?\d|\s\s)[-]((\d\d)?\d\d|\s\s\s\s)$");
m = r.Match(dateStr);
if (m.Success)
{
return getDateTimeFromParts(m.Groups[1].Value, m.Groups[2].Value, m.Groups[3].Value);
}
return null;
}
Let's say I have a list of dates in a table. Now I want to find all rows, which is in the same week as the date provided as an argument.
Let's say I have a table with:
2014-09-11
2014-09-12
2014-09-15
And I give this function the argument 2014-09-09, it has to look from monday->sunday, and realize that 09-11 and 09-12 is part of the week, but not 09-15.
How on earth to solve this?
I have thought on making a check on year, month and weeknumber, but you cannot guarantee that month is the same...
So how do you solve a problem like this?
DxCk's comment is valid. This solution will work even if the first or last week of the year cross two different years:
Check that the first day of the week for both dates fall on the same day.
Here is the code:
private bool DatesAreInTheSameWeek(DateTime date1, DateTime date2)
{
var cal = System.Globalization.DateTimeFormatInfo.CurrentInfo.Calendar;
var d1 = date1.Date.AddDays(-1 * (int)cal.GetDayOfWeek(date1));
var d2 = date2.Date.AddDays(-1 * (int)cal.GetDayOfWeek(date2));
return d1 == d2;
}
why not?
bool AreFallingInSameWeek(DateTime date1, DateTime date2)
{
return date1.AddDays(-(int)date1.DayOfWeek) == date2.AddDays(-(int)date2.DayOfWeek);
}
if you want to use any day other than Sunday as start of the week
bool AreFallingInSameWeek(DateTime date1, DateTime date2, DayOfWeek weekStartsOn)
{
return date1.AddDays(-GetOffsetedDayofWeek(date1.DayOfWeek, (int)weekStartsOn)) == date2.AddDays(-GetOffsetedDayofWeek(date2.DayOfWeek, (int)weekStartsOn));
}
int GetOffsetedDayofWeek(DayOfWeek dayOfWeek, int offsetBy)
{
return (((int)dayOfWeek - offsetBy + 7) % 7)
}
Check the DateTime.Year and Calendar.GetWeekOfYear(DateTime, ...). No need to check for the month.
EDIT: This is wrong but I can't delete it. See #Sparrow's answer below.
Use: public virtual int GetWeekOfYear(DateTime time,CalendarWeekRule rule,DayOfWeek firstDayOfWeek) of Calendar class
My requirement was to find DOBs falling on the current week. Hope this helps with your doubt. Basically the idea behind this code is as follows:
Change the DOB to current year birthday (eg; 24-02-1988 to 24-02-2018(current year).
Add a year, if the brithday week contains both dec and jan
Get the first day of today's week.
Get last day of today's week.
check if the current year birthday falls between first day and last day of today's week.
private bool DatesAreInTheSameWeek(DateTime birthday)
{
if (birthday == DateTime.MinValue)
{
return false;
}
else
{
var birtdayWithCurrentYear = new DateTime(DateTime.Today.Year, birthday.Month, birthday.Day);
if (birthday.Month == 1 && DateTime.Today.Month != 1)
{
birtdayWithCurrentYear = birtdayWithCurrentYear.AddYears(1);
}
DateTime firstDayInWeek = DateTime.Today.Date;
while (firstDayInWeek.DayOfWeek != CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.DateTimeFormat.FirstDayOfWeek)
firstDayInWeek = firstDayInWeek.AddDays(-1);var lastDayInWeek = firstDayInWeek.AddDays(7);
return birtdayWithCurrentYear < lastDayInWeek && birtdayWithCurrentYear >= firstDayInWeek;
}
}
Since the accepted answer contains error as #DxCK mentioned in comment, here is my solution for this:
public static class DateExtensions
{
private static void Swap<T>(ref T one, ref T two)
{
var temp = one;
one = two;
two = temp;
}
public static bool IsFromSameWeek(this DateTime first, DateTime second, DayOfWeek firstDayOfWeek = DayOfWeek.Monday)
{
// sort dates
if (first > second)
{
Swap(ref first, ref second);
}
var daysDiff = (second - first).TotalDays;
if (daysDiff >= 7)
{
return false;
}
const int TotalDaysInWeek = 7;
var adjustedDayOfWeekFirst = (int)first.DayOfWeek + (first.DayOfWeek < firstDayOfWeek ? TotalDaysInWeek : 0);
var adjustedDayOfWeekSecond = (int)second.DayOfWeek + (second.DayOfWeek < firstDayOfWeek ? TotalDaysInWeek : 0);
return adjustedDayOfWeekSecond >= adjustedDayOfWeekFirst;
}
}
Also here is link to another correct solution with slightly different approach.
Find start and end dates for the first date's week. Then check if the second date is between those two.
public static bool DateInsideOneWeek(DateTime date1, DateTime date2)
{
DayOfWeek firstDayOfWeek = System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.DateTimeFormat.FirstDayOfWeek;
DateTime startDateOfWeek = date1.Date;
while(startDateOfWeek.DayOfWeek != firstWeekDay)
{ startDateOfWeek = startDateOfWeek.AddDays(-1d); }
DateTime endDateOfWeek = startDateOfWeek.AddDays(6d);
return date2 >= startDateOfWeek && date2 <= endDateOfWeek;
}
If you don't want to use the Calendar class you can use this function:
public static int WeekOfYear(DateTime dt)
{
int startDays = 0;
// first day of the year
DateTime firstJanuary = new DateTime(dt.Year, 1, 1);
if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Tuesday)
{
startDays = 1;
}
else if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Wednesday)
{
startDays = 2;
}
else if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Thursday)
{
startDays = 3;
}
else if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Friday)
{
startDays = 4;
}
else if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Saturday)
{
startDays = 5;
}
else if (firstJanuary.DayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Sunday)
{
startDays = 6;
}
if (DateTimeFormatInfo.CurrentInfo.FirstDayOfWeek == DayOfWeek.Sunday)
{
startDays++;
startDays = startDays % 7;
}
return ((dt.DayOfYear + startDays - 1) / 7) + 1;
}
Accepted answer doesn't work for a french calendar and when the dates are 03/10/2022 and 09/10/2022.
This worked for me :
public static partial class DateTimeExtensions
{
public static DateTime FirstDayOfWeek(this DateTime dt)
{
var culture = System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture;
var diff = dt.DayOfWeek - culture.DateTimeFormat.FirstDayOfWeek;
if (diff < 0)
{
diff += 7;
}
return dt.AddDays(-diff).Date;
}
public static DateTime LastDayOfWeek(this DateTime dt) =>
dt.FirstDayOfWeek().AddDays(6);
public static DateTime FirstDayOfMonth(this DateTime dt) =>
new DateTime(dt.Year, dt.Month, 1);
public static DateTime LastDayOfMonth(this DateTime dt) =>
dt.FirstDayOfMonth().AddMonths(1).AddDays(-1);
public static DateTime FirstDayOfNextMonth(this DateTime dt) =>
dt.FirstDayOfMonth().AddMonths(1);
public static int GetWeeekNumber(this DateTime dt)
{
CultureInfo culture = System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture;
Calendar myCal = culture.Calendar;
// Gets the DTFI properties required by GetWeekOfYear.
CalendarWeekRule myCWR = culture.DateTimeFormat.CalendarWeekRule;
DayOfWeek myFirstDOW = culture.DateTimeFormat.FirstDayOfWeek;
return myCal.GetWeekOfYear(dt, myCWR, myFirstDOW);
}
public static bool IsInTheSameWeek(this DateTime date1, DateTime date2)
{
return date1.GetWeeekNumber() == date2.GetWeeekNumber();
}
}
Usage :
item.Week.IsInTheSameWeek(Week)
I've come across a problem customizing my DateTimePicker value in my application. I've read all about the various formatting strings which you can use to customize the way the date/time is interpreted. The issue is that I actually want some of the text to be ignored in the custom format string so that I can add in the season as a string to the beginning of the DateTimePicker.
For example, let's take today's date which is August 7th, 2013 at 5:30PM (in the US). If I use the custom format string "MMM.d -h:mm tt" then the date will be shown as Aug. 7th - 5:30PM. So, that's perfect. Only, I want to add the season to the beginning of the string. So, in this case, it would be "Summer: Aug. 7th - 5:30PM".
The issue that I'm having is that if I insert the word "Summer" at the beginning of the custom format string, then it actually interprets the double mm's as GetMinute value of the dateTime. I'd like for the season to remain literal, but the rest of the format string to be interpreted (if that makes sense).
Here is the code I'm using:
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
dateTimePicker1.Format = DateTimePickerFormat.Custom;
season = getSeason(dateTimePicker1.Value);
dateTimePicker1.CustomFormat = convertSeason(season) + " : " + dt_format;
}
public int season = 1; //set default to summer
public string dt_format = "MMM.d -h:mm tt";
private int getSeason(DateTime date)
{
float value = (float)date.Month + date.Day / 100; // <month>.<day(2 digit)>
if (value < 3.21 || value >= 12.22) return 3; // Winter
if (value < 6.21) return 0; // Spring
if (value < 9.23) return 1; // Summer
return 2; // Autumn
}
private string convertSeason(int value)
{
string season = "Spring";
if (value == 1) season = "Summer";
else if (value == 2) season = "Autumn";
else if (value == 3) season = "Winter";
return season;
}
private void dateTimePicker1_ValueChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
season = getSeason(dateTimePicker1.Value);
dateTimePicker1.CustomFormat = convertSeason(season) + " : " + dt_format;
}
You need to surround it in a literal string delimiter (for DateTime format strings): '.
So now your method could be this:
private string convertSeason(int value)
{
string season = "'Spring'";
if (value == 1) season = "'Summer'";
else if (value == 2) season = "'Autumn'";
else if (value == 3) season = "'Winter'";
return season;
}
However, your methods could be improved a bit. So I took the liberty of doing that:
private int GetSeason(DateTime date)
{
//using decimal to avoid any inaccuracy issues
decimal value = date.Month + date.Day / 100M; // <month>.<day(2 digit)>
if (value < 3.21 || value >= 12.22) return 3; // Winter
if (value < 6.21) return 0; // Spring
if (value < 9.23) return 1; // Summer
return 2; // Autumn
}
private string ConvertSeason(int value)
{
switch (value)
{
case 0:
return "'Spring'";
case 1:
return "'Summer'";
case 2:
return "'Autumn'";
case 3:
return "'Winter'";
}
return "";
}