Date and Time in Dart

Properties of DateTime in Dart

There are some properties with which the dart DateTime class provides us to know some information about the instance we have created, such as:

Example: In this example, we are using all the properties discussed above.

Code:

void main()
{
  // Creating an instance of current date and time. 
  var curr = DateTime.now();
  print("Current data: $curr");


  // Specifying the year, month, day, hour, minute, second.
  var local = DateTime(1999, 10, 14, 12, 30, 45);
  print("Local time: $local");
  print("Information of DateTime object.");
  print("Day: ${local.day}");
  print("Hour: ${local.hour}");
  print("Is the time is in UTC: ${local.isUtc}");
  print("Millisecond: ${local.millisecond}");
  print("Time since epoch is: ${local.microsecondsSinceEpoch}");
  print("Minute: ${local.minute}");
  print("Month: ${local.month}");
  print("Weekday: ${local.weekday}");
  print("Second: ${local.second}");
  print("Year: ${local.year}");
}

Output:

Current data: 2022-05-01 16:23:48.592
Local time: 1999-10-14 12:30:45.000
Information of DateTime object.
Day: 14
Hour: 12
Is the time is in UTC: false
Millisecond: 0
Time since epoch is: 939884445000000
Minute: 30
Month: 10
Weekday: 4
Second: 45
Year: 1999

Explanation: Here, we create two objects, "curr" and "local". On the "local" object, we apply all the properties. 

Methods of DateTime

Now we have some methods, and these methods are used to manipulate the created DateTime object. Dart provides us with a number of methods to use for the DateTime object here. We are discussing some of the essential methods, the rest you find on dart's docs.

Example: In this example, we are using all the methods discussed above.

Code:

// In this example we are using add(), subtract(), difference(), 
// isAfter(), isBefore() and compareTo() methods
void main()
{
  // Specifying the year, month, day, hour, minute, second.
  var local = DateTime(1999, 11, 14, 12, 30, 45);
  print("Local time: $local\n");
  
  // Here we are adding 40 days and 12 hours to “local” object.
  var localAdded = local.add(Duration(days:40, hours:12));
  print("After adding 40 days and 12 hours: $localAdded");
  print("Is the new date is after: ${localAdded.isAfter(local)}\n");
  
  // Here we are subtracting 20 days and 10 hours to local object.
  var localSubtracted = local.subtract(Duration(days:20, hours:10));
  print("After subtracting 20 days and 10 hours: $localSubtracted");
  print("Is the new date is before: ${localSubtracted.isBefore(local)}\n");
  
  // Here we are using the compareTo() method, if the method is not 
  // returning zero then it means that both the objects are not equal. 
  if(localAdded.compareTo(localSubtracted) != 0)
  {
    // Now let's check the duration between both the newly created 
    // object localAdded and localSubtracted.
    var dur = localAdded.difference(localSubtracted);
    print("The duration between dates after adding and subtracting: ${dur.inDays}");
  }
}

Output:

Local time: 1999-11-14 12:30:45.000

After adding 40 days and 12 hours: 1999-12-25 00:30:45.000
Is the new date is after: true

After subtracting 20 days and 10 hours: 1999-10-25 02:30:45.000
Is the new date is before: true

The duration between dates after adding and subtracting: 60

Explanation: Here, we first created an object, then we added 40 days and 12 hours to that object and stored its value to a new object "localAdded" and also we subtracted 20 days and 12 hours from that "local" object and stored the value to "localSubtracted". Then we compared both the newly created objects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we check if the two objects have the exact date and time?

Yes, dart's DateTime class provides us a method that checks whether two objects have the exact date and time is isAtSameMomentAs(), and as a result, it returns a bool type object. 

What is Duration?

Just like the DateTime, Duration is also a class in dart whose object gives us a duration of time. Its constructor takes days, hours, minutes, and seconds to create an object.  

 Is there any way to interpret the result of the duration class?

The duration class has provided us with a number of properties, and using these properties, we can simplify the duration object result. Some of the properties are inDays, inHours, inMinutes, inSeconds, etc.

Conclusion

In this article, we've extensively discussed the DateTime class in dart and its implementation. We have discussed how to use its constructors, properties, and methods.

We hope this blog has helped you enhance your knowledge regarding the DateTime class of dart. Do check out the awesome content on the Coding Ninjas Website, Android Development, Coding Ninjas Studio Problems, Coding Ninjas Studio Interview Bundle, Coding Ninjas Studio Interview Experiences, Coding Ninjas Courses, Coding Ninjas Studio Contests, and Coding Ninjas Studio Test Series. Do upvote our blog to help other ninjas grow.

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