I'm trying to implement a TextBox validation for user input of dates. Long story short, I'm building a new application and the users are accustomed to entering dates this way, so I want to try and validate the input while not making them "learn" something new. I have the following event handler code I hook up to date fields to test the input:
Dim DateText As String = String.Empty
Dim ValidDates As New List(Of Date)
Dim DateFormats() As String = {"Mdyy", "Mddyy", "MMdyy", "MMddyy", "Mdyyyy", "Mddyyyy", "MMdyyyy", "MMddyyyy"}
If TypeOf sender Is System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Then
Dim CurrentField As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox = CType(sender, System.Windows.Forms.TextBox)
If CurrentField.Text IsNot Nothing AndAlso Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(CurrentField.Text.Trim) Then
DateText = CurrentField.Text.Trim.ReplaceCharacters(CharacterType.Punctuation)
End If
For Each ValidFormat As String In DateFormats
Dim DateBuff As Date
If Date.TryParseExact(DateText, ValidFormat, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, DateBuff) Then
If Not ValidDates.Contains(DateBuff) Then
ValidDates.Add(DateBuff)
End If
End If
Next ValidFormat
If ValidDates.Count > 1 Then
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered is ambiguous." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"AMBIGUOUS DATE ENTERED", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
ElseIf ValidDates.Count < 1 Then
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered was not valid." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"INVALID INPUT FORMAT", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
Else
CurrentField.ForeColor = SystemColors.WindowText
CurrentField.BackColor = SystemColors.Window
End If
End If
This validation method only seems to work correctly if the format includes a two-digit month and two-digit day. If I try to use any of the single-digit formats (e.g., Mddyy, MMdyyyy, etc.), TryParseExact always returns False, and the date is never added to the List(Of Date).
Here are some "hard-coded" tests I went through trying to get to the source of the problem. I've used some intentionally ambiguous dates, as well as some definitively unambiguous ones:
If Date.TryParseExact("1223", "Mdyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 1223 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (1223)")
End If
'failed (1223)
If Date.TryParseExact("12123", "Mddyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 12123 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (12123)")
End If
'failed (12123)
If Date.TryParseExact("012123", "MMddyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 012123 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (012123)")
End If
'success: 012123 -> 1/21/2023
If Date.TryParseExact("1122023", "MMdyyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 1122023 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (1122023)")
End If
'failed (1122023)
If Date.TryParseExact("72521", "Mddyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 72521 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (72521)")
End If
'failed (72521)
If Date.TryParseExact("072521", "MMddyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 072521 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (072521)")
End If
'success: 072521 -> 7/25/2021
If Date.TryParseExact("3312019", "Mddyyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 3312019 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (3312019)")
End If
'failed (3312019)
If Date.TryParseExact("05201975", "MMddyyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 05201975 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (05201975)")
End If
'success: 05201975 -> 5/20/1975
If Date.TryParseExact("432013", "Mdyyyy", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, TempDate) Then
Console.WriteLine($"success: 432013 -> {TempDate.ToString("M/d/yyyy")}")
Else
Console.WriteLine("failed (432013)")
End If
'failed (432013)
I've seen several posts complaining of "unusual behavior" with the TryParseExact() method, but I've not been able to find anything that explains why this is actually happening. I know that I've used some of these parsing methods in the past, but I don't recall ever having this much trouble getting a simple parse to work.
I thought the whole point of using the TryParseExact() method was so that I could tell the parser specifically where the data elements were in the string and get a valid value back. Am I missing or overlooking something here?
Based on the explanation from the accepted answer as well as the additional details in the accepted answer from How to convert datetime string in format MMMdyyyyhhmmtt to datetime object?, I believe I've come up with a sort of "work-around" solution that enables me to achieve my goal of allowing my users to continue doing things the way they are used to while still providing the validation I'm looking for.
List(Of String) variable where I store the possible formats for a given input string (I already limit input to numeric, -, or / only)Select Case to inject separators (/) into the string at specific positions based on the string's lengthDateFormats() array to use format strings to use in TryParseExact() that include separators (/)With this, I can test each of those values for valid dates and make my determination from there.
Here's the updated method:
Public Sub ValidateDateField(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As CancelEventArgs)
Dim DateText As String = String.Empty
Dim ValidDates As New List(Of Date)
Dim DateFormats() As String = {"M/d/yy", "M/dd/yy", "MM/d/yy", "MM/dd/yy", "M/d/yyyy", "M/dd/yyyy", "MM/d/yyyy", "MM/dd/yyyy"}
Dim FormattedDates As New List(Of String)
If TypeOf sender Is System.Windows.Forms.TextBox Then
Dim CurrentField As System.Windows.Forms.TextBox = CType(sender, System.Windows.Forms.TextBox)
If CurrentField.Text IsNot Nothing AndAlso Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(CurrentField.Text.Trim) Then
'ReplaceCharacters() is a custom extension method
DateText = CurrentField.Text.Trim.ReplaceCharacters(CharacterType.Punctuation)
Select Case DateText.Length
Case < 4
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered was not valid." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"INVALID INPUT FORMAT", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
Exit Sub
Case 4
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(1, "/"c).Insert(3, "/"c))
Case 5
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(1, "/"c).Insert(4, "/"c))
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(2, "/"c).Insert(4, "/"c))
Case 6
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(1, "/"c).Insert(3, "/"c))
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(2, "/"c).Insert(5, "/"c))
Case 7
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(1, "/"c).Insert(4, "/"c))
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(2, "/"c).Insert(4, "/"c))
Case 8
FormattedDates.Add(DateText.Insert(2, "/"c).Insert(5, "/"c))
Case Else
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered was not valid." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"INVALID INPUT FORMAT", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
Exit Sub
End Select
For Each TempDate As String In FormattedDates
For Each ValidFormat As String In DateFormats
Dim DateBuff As Date
If DateTime.TryParseExact(TempDate, ValidFormat, System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, DateBuff) Then
If Not ValidDates.Contains(DateBuff) Then
ValidDates.Add(DateBuff)
End If
End If
Next ValidFormat
Next TempDate
If DateText.Trim.Length > 0 Then
If ValidDates.Count > 1 Then
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered is ambiguous." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"AMBIGUOUS DATE ENTERED", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
ElseIf ValidDates.Count < 1 Then
CurrentField.SelectAll()
CurrentField.HideSelection = False
MessageBox.Show("The date you entered was not valid." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"Please enter two digits for the month, two digits for the day and" & vbCrLf &
"two digits for the year." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf &
"For example, today's date should be entered as either " & Now.ToString("MMddyy") & vbCrLf &
" or " & Now.ToString("MM/dd/yy") & ".",
"INVALID INPUT FORMAT", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)
CurrentField.HideSelection = True
e.Cancel = True
Else
CurrentField.ForeColor = SystemColors.WindowText
CurrentField.BackColor = SystemColors.Window
End If
End If
End If
End If
End Sub
The documentation is clear about this,
If you do not use date or time separators in a custom format pattern, use the invariant culture for the provider parameter and the widest form of each custom format specifier. For example, if you want to specify hours in the pattern, specify the wider form, "HH", instead of the narrower form, "H".