Check String if the format is "yyyy-MM-dd h:mm:ss" in VB.NET

Question

How to check if the given string is in a valid customized format "yyyy-MM-dd h:mm:ss"?

For example:

2013-09-09 05:25:40

is in a valid format.

and

09-09-2013 05:25:40

is invalid format.

Answer 1

You can use DateTime.TryParseExact() for this.

if(DateTime.TryParseExact(yourDate, "yyyy-MM-dd h:mm:ss", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, 
                       DateTimeStyles.None, out dateValue))
{
   // DateTime parsed, dateValue contains the parsed DateTime
}