How to Compare Time in Visual Basic

You can compare two time variables in Visual Basic.

Creating time management functions in your Visual Basic application involves comparing time variables. You can compare two time variables and execute code dependent on a certain condition. If both variables in the Visual Basic application are the "Date" or "Time" type, then the compiler automatically knows that the comparison should be for minutes, hours or days. Comparing times involves setting up the variables and placing them in an "If" statement.

Instructions

1. Open your Visual Basic project. When the project loads, double-click the form you want to edit in the Solution Explorer. When the form loads, right-click it and select "Code View." This opens your code-behind file.

2. Create two time variables. These variables will be used to compare the time and execute code. The code below creates two time variables:

   Dim StartDate as String
   Dim EndDate as String
   StartDate = "1:00 PM"
   EndDate = "2:00 PM"

3. Compare the two dates. The DateTime class contains a compare function you can use to compare the time. The code below illustrates how to compare the two variables created:

   If DateTime.Compare(StartDate, EndDate) < 0 Then
   MsgBox "The Start Date is less than the End Date"
   Else
   MsgBox "The End Date is less than the Start Date"

   The code above prints a message advising the user which date is smaller.

4. Save the file and press the F5 key. This runs the code in the compiler debugger, so you can test the new block of code.

References

• Dot Net Spark: Compare Time Example