Parse strings in .NET

A parsing operation converts a string that represents a .NET base type into that base type. For example, a parsing operation is used to convert a string to a floating-point number or to a date-and-time value. The method most commonly used to perform a parsing operation is the Parse method. Because parsing is the reverse operation of formatting (which involves converting a base type into its string representation), many of the same rules and conventions apply. Just as formatting uses an object that implements the IFormatProvider interface to provide culture-sensitive formatting information, parsing also uses an object that implements the IFormatProvider interface to determine how to interpret a string representation. For more information, see Format types.

In This Section

Parsing Numeric Strings
Describes how to convert strings into .NET numeric types.

Parsing Date and Time Strings
Describes how to convert strings into .NET DateTime types.

Parsing Other Strings
Describes how to convert strings into Char, Boolean, and Enum types.

Related Sections

Formatting Types
Describes basic formatting concepts like format specifiers and format providers.

Type Conversion in .NET
Describes how to convert types.