Convert a string in time format to minutes

I am new to C#. I just created a method where I can convert a string with the format HH:MM AM/PM to minutes. I was wondering if there is a better or more effective way to achieve the same result.

static void Main(string[] args)
{

string time1 = "11:15 AM";
string time2 = "11:15 PM";

calculateTimeInMinutes(time1);
calculateTimeInMinutes(time2);

void calculateTimeInMinutes(string currentTime)
{
if (currentTime.Contains("PM"))
{
int hours = Convert.ToInt32(currentTime.Substring(0, 2));
int HoursInminutes = (12 + (hours % 60)) * 60;
string minutesInString = currentTime.Split(':')[1];
int minutes = Convert.ToInt32(minutesInString.Remove(2));
int totalMinutes = HoursInminutes + minutes;
Console.WriteLine(totalMinutes);
}
else
{
int hours = Convert.ToInt32(currentTime.Substring(0, 2));
int HoursInminutes = (hours % 60) * 60;
string minutesInString = currentTime.Split(':')[1];
int minutes = Convert.ToInt32(minutesInString.Remove(2));
int totalMinutes = HoursInminutes + minutes;
Console.WriteLine(totalMinutes);
}
}

}
}

• Could you explain the hours % 60 part? This baffles me completely: for any time between 00:00 and 23:59 it will do nothing. Jul 7, 2018 at 7:56
• @highrun any reason to do not use datetime type? Jul 7, 2018 at 11:56

The code is easy to understand, and it seems to produce the correct result.

A couple of things:

1) The code for "AM" and "PM" are almost identical with the difference of 12 (the PM-addend). You should not repeat yourself.

2) You "split" the string three times: one for AM/PM, one for hours, and one for minutes. Instead you could use string[] parts = input.Split(':', ' '); to split to the useful parts in one operation.

3) You should maybe check the input for correct format and throw some meaningful exceptions in case of wrong format.

All in all my reviewed code would be something like:

int CalculateTimeInMinutes(string input)
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(input))
throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(input));

string[] parts = input.Split(':', ' ');

if (parts.Length != 3)
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(input));

if (parts[2].ToUpper() != "AM" && parts[2].ToUpper() != "PM")
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(input), "Missing AM/PM qualifier");

if (!int.TryParse(parts[0], out int hours))
{
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(input), "Invalid hours part.");
}

if (hours < 0 || hours > 12)
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(input), "Hours must be between 00 and 12 (inclusive)");

// TODO: The same checks for minutes.
int.TryParse(parts[1], out int minutes);

int toPM = parts[2].ToUpper() == "PM" ? 12 : 0;
int hoursInminutes = (toPM + (hours % 60)) * 60;
int totalMinutes = hoursInminutes + minutes;
}


That said, there are well known objects and apis that can do the same operation in a few lines of codes:

int CalculateTimeInMinutes(string input)
{
DateTime time = DateTime.Parse(input, new CultureInfo("en-US"));
return (int)(time - time.Date).TotalMinutes;
}

• new CultureInfo("en-US", false) would be even better Jun 3, 2019 at 19:21

You could do something like this with an extension class. I find extensions very useful

void Main()
{
string startTime = "11:15 AM";
string endTime = "11:00 PM";

var mins = startTime.TimeDiffMinutes(endTime);

var hours = startTime.TimeDiffHours(endTime);
Console.WriteLine(\$"minutes: {mins}, minutes to hours: {hours}");

}

public static class TimeHelper
{
public static double TimeDiffMinutes(this string startTime, string endTime)
{
return DateTime.Parse(endTime).Subtract(DateTime.Parse(startTime)).TotalMinutes;
}
public static double TimeDiffHours(this string startTime, string endTime)
{
return DateTime.Parse(endTime).Subtract(DateTime.Parse(startTime)).TotalHours;
}
public static double ToHours(this double minutes)
{
return (minutes / 60);
}
}

• This is in the low quality queue because it is an alternate version of the code without an observation about the original code. Why is this version better than the original? What was bad about the original? If you edit such an observation into this answer, it is more likely to survive the queue. Aug 20, 2021 at 18:07
• I see one class. How is TimeHelper an extension class, what does it extend? Aug 21, 2021 at 9:22
• Extension methods enable you to "add" methods to existing types without creating a new derived type, recompiling, or otherwise modifying the original type. Extension methods are static methods, but they're called as if they were instance methods on the extended type. In this example, it does what he wants it to do with less code. In a real environment, technical debt is a big issue. I've been writing code for nearly 40 years and it is the defacto standard that less is more. This is just an example that someone could do and add additional methods to do what they need to do. Oct 7, 2021 at 10:23