Struct Instant

Represents an instant on the global timeline.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Implements
IEquatable<Instant>
IComparable<Instant>
IFormattable
IComparable
IXmlSerializable
ISerializable
Inherited Members
Object.Equals(Object, Object)
Object.ReferenceEquals(Object, Object)
Object.GetType()
Namespace: NodaTime
Assembly: NodaTime.dll
Syntax
[Serializable]
public struct Instant : IEquatable<Instant>, IComparable<Instant>, IFormattable, IComparable, IXmlSerializable, ISerializable
Remarks

An instant is defined by an integral number of 'ticks' since the Unix epoch (typically described as January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC, ISO calendar), where a tick is equal to 100 nanoseconds. There are 10,000 ticks in a millisecond.

An Instant has no concept of a particular time zone or calendar: it simply represents a point in time that can be globally agreed-upon.

Constructors

Instant(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
[Obsolete("Use FromUnixTimeTicks for compatibility with 2.0.")]
public Instant(long ticks)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 ticks The number of ticks since the Unix epoch. Negative values represent instants before the Unix epoch.
Remarks
Note that while the Noda Time Instant type and BCL System.DateTime and System.DateTimeOffset types are all defined in terms of a number of ticks, they use different origins: the Noda Time types count ticks from the Unix epoch (the start of 1970 AD), while the BCL types count from the start of 1 AD. This constructor requires the former; to convert from a number-of-ticks since the BCL epoch, construct a System.DateTime first, then use FromDateTimeUtc(DateTime).

Fields

MaxValue

Represents the largest possible Instant.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static readonly Instant MaxValue
Field Value
Type Description
Instant
Remarks
Within Noda Time, this is also used to represent 'the end of time'.

MinValue

Represents the smallest possible Instant.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static readonly Instant MinValue
Field Value
Type Description
Instant
Remarks
Within Noda Time, this is also used to represent 'the beginning of time'.

Properties

Ticks

The number of ticks since the Unix epoch. Negative values represent instants before the Unix epoch.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
[Obsolete("Use ToUnixTimeTicks for compatibility with 2.0")]
public long Ticks { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
Int64
Remarks
A tick is equal to 100 nanoseconds. There are 10,000 ticks in a millisecond.

Methods

Add(Instant, Duration)

Adds a duration to an instant. Friendly alternative to operator+().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant Add(Instant left, Duration right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Duration right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the sum of the given values.

CompareTo(Instant)

Compares the current object with another object of the same type.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public int CompareTo(Instant other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant other An object to compare with this object.
Returns
Type Description
Int32 A 32-bit signed integer that indicates the relative order of the objects being compared. The return value has the following meanings:
ValueMeaning
< 0This object is less than the other parameter.
0This object is equal to other.
> 0This object is greater than other.

Equals(Instant)

Indicates whether the value of this instant is equal to the value of the specified instant.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public bool Equals(Instant other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant other The value to compare with this instance.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the value of this instant is equal to the value of the other parameter; otherwise, false.

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified System.Object is equal to this instance.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public override bool Equals(object obj)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Object obj The System.Object to compare with this instance.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the specified System.Object is equal to this instance; otherwise, false.
Overrides
System.ValueType.Equals(System.Object)

FromDateTimeOffset(DateTimeOffset)

Converts a System.DateTimeOffset into a new Instant representing the same instant in time. Note that the offset information is not preserved in the returned Instant.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromDateTimeOffset(DateTimeOffset dateTimeOffset)
Parameters
Type Name Description
DateTimeOffset dateTimeOffset Date and time value with an offset.
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant value representing the same instant in time as the given System.DateTimeOffset.

FromDateTimeUtc(DateTime)

Converts a System.DateTime into a new Instant representing the same instant in time.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromDateTimeUtc(DateTime dateTime)
Parameters
Type Name Description
DateTime dateTime Date and time value which must have a System.DateTime.Kind of System.DateTimeKind.Utc
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant value representing the same instant in time as the given universal System.DateTime.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentException dateTime is not of System.DateTime.Kind System.DateTimeKind.Utc.

FromMillisecondsSinceUnixEpoch(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.1.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
[Obsolete("Use FromUnixTimeMilliseconds for compatibility with 2.0.")]
public static Instant FromMillisecondsSinceUnixEpoch(long milliseconds)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 milliseconds Number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException The constructed instant would be out of the range representable in Noda Time.

FromSecondsSinceUnixEpoch(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of seconds since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.1.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
[Obsolete("Use FromUnixTimeSeconds for compatibility with 2.0.")]
public static Instant FromSecondsSinceUnixEpoch(long seconds)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 seconds Number of seconds since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of seconds since the Unix epoch.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException The constructed instant would be out of the range representable in Noda Time.

FromTicksSinceUnixEpoch(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of ticks since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.1.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
[Obsolete("Use FromUnixTimeTicks for compatibility with 2.0.")]
public static Instant FromTicksSinceUnixEpoch(long ticks)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 ticks Number of ticks since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of ticks since the Unix epoch.
Remarks
This is equivalent to calling the constructor directly, but indicates intent more explicitly.

FromUnixTimeMilliseconds(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.4.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromUnixTimeMilliseconds(long milliseconds)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 milliseconds Number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException The constructed instant would be out of the range representable in Noda Time.

FromUnixTimeSeconds(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of seconds since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.4.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromUnixTimeSeconds(long seconds)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 seconds Number of seconds since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of seconds since the Unix epoch.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException The constructed instant would be out of the range representable in Noda Time.

FromUnixTimeTicks(Int64)

Initializes a new instance of the Instant struct based on a number of ticks since the Unix epoch of (ISO) January 1st 1970, midnight, UTC.
Since 1.4.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromUnixTimeTicks(long ticks)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 ticks Number of ticks since the Unix epoch. May be negative (for instants before the epoch).
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant at exactly the given number of ticks since the Unix epoch.

FromUtc(Int32, Int32, Int32, Int32, Int32)

Returns a new instant corresponding to the given UTC date and time in the ISO calendar. In most cases applications should use ZonedDateTime to represent a date and time, but this method is useful in some situations where an Instant is required, such as time zone testing.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromUtc(int year, int monthOfYear, int dayOfMonth, int hourOfDay, int minuteOfHour)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int32 year The year. This is the "absolute year", so a value of 0 means 1 BC, for example.
Int32 monthOfYear The month of year.
Int32 dayOfMonth The day of month.
Int32 hourOfDay The hour.
Int32 minuteOfHour The minute.
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant value representing the given date and time in UTC and the ISO calendar.

FromUtc(Int32, Int32, Int32, Int32, Int32, Int32)

Returns a new instant corresponding to the given UTC date and time in the ISO calendar. In most cases applications should use ZonedDateTime to represent a date and time, but this method is useful in some situations where an Instant is required, such as time zone testing.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant FromUtc(int year, int monthOfYear, int dayOfMonth, int hourOfDay, int minuteOfHour, int secondOfMinute)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int32 year The year. This is the "absolute year", so a value of 0 means 1 BC, for example.
Int32 monthOfYear The month of year.
Int32 dayOfMonth The day of month.
Int32 hourOfDay The hour.
Int32 minuteOfHour The minute.
Int32 secondOfMinute The second.
Returns
Type Description
Instant An Instant value representing the given date and time in UTC and the ISO calendar.

GetHashCode()

Returns a hash code for this instance.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public override int GetHashCode()
Returns
Type Description
Int32 A hash code for this instance, suitable for use in hashing algorithms and data structures like a hash table.
Overrides
System.ValueType.GetHashCode()

InUtc()

Returns the ZonedDateTime representing the same point in time as this instant, in the UTC time zone and ISO-8601 calendar. This is a shortcut for calling InZone(DateTimeZone) with an argument of Utc.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public ZonedDateTime InUtc()
Returns
Type Description
ZonedDateTime A ZonedDateTime for the same instant, in the UTC time zone and the ISO-8601 calendar

InZone(DateTimeZone)

Returns the ZonedDateTime representing the same point in time as this instant, in the specified time zone and ISO-8601 calendar.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public ZonedDateTime InZone(DateTimeZone zone)
Parameters
Type Name Description
DateTimeZone zone The time zone in which to represent this instant.
Returns
Type Description
ZonedDateTime A ZonedDateTime for the same instant, in the given time zone and the ISO-8601 calendar
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentNullException zone is null.

InZone(DateTimeZone, CalendarSystem)

Returns the ZonedDateTime representing the same point in time as this instant, in the specified time zone and calendar system.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public ZonedDateTime InZone(DateTimeZone zone, CalendarSystem calendar)
Parameters
Type Name Description
DateTimeZone zone The time zone in which to represent this instant.
CalendarSystem calendar The calendar system in which to represent this instant.
Returns
Type Description
ZonedDateTime A ZonedDateTime for the same instant, in the given time zone and calendar
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentNullException zone or calendar is null

Max(Instant, Instant)

Returns the later instant of the given two.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant Max(Instant x, Instant y)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant x The first instant to compare.
Instant y The second instant to compare.
Returns
Type Description
Instant The later instant of x or y.

Min(Instant, Instant)

Returns the earlier instant of the given two.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant Min(Instant x, Instant y)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant x The first instant to compare.
Instant y The second instant to compare.
Returns
Type Description
Instant The earlier instant of x or y.

Minus(Duration)

Returns the result of subtracting a duration from this instant, for a fluent alternative to operator-().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public Instant Minus(Duration duration)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Duration duration The duration to subtract
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the result of the subtraction.

Minus(Instant)

Returns the result of subtracting another instant from this one, for a fluent alternative to operator-().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public Duration Minus(Instant other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant other The other instant to subtract
Returns
Type Description
Duration A new Instant representing the result of the subtraction.

Plus(Duration)

Returns the result of adding a duration to this instant, for a fluent alternative to operator+().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public Instant Plus(Duration duration)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Duration duration The duration to add
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the result of the addition.

PlusTicks(Int64)

Returns a new value of this instant with the given number of ticks added to it.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public Instant PlusTicks(long ticksToAdd)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Int64 ticksToAdd The ticks to add to this instant to create the return value.
Returns
Type Description
Instant The result of adding the given number of ticks to this instant.

Subtract(Instant, Duration)

Subtracts a duration from an instant. Friendly alternative to operator-().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant Subtract(Instant left, Duration right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Duration right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the difference of the given values.

Subtract(Instant, Instant)

Subtracts one instant from another. Friendly alternative to operator-().
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Duration Subtract(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Duration A new Duration representing the difference of the given values.

ToDateTimeOffset()

Constructs a System.DateTimeOffset from this Instant which has an offset of zero.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public DateTimeOffset ToDateTimeOffset()
Returns
Type Description
DateTimeOffset A System.DateTimeOffset representing the same instant in time as this value.

ToDateTimeUtc()

Constructs a System.DateTime from this Instant which has a System.DateTime.Kind of System.DateTimeKind.Utc and represents the same instant of time as this value.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public DateTime ToDateTimeUtc()
Returns
Type Description
DateTime A System.DateTime representing the same instant in time as this value, with a kind of "universal".

ToString()

Returns a System.String that represents this instance.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public override string ToString()
Returns
Type Description
String The value of the current instance in the default format pattern ("g"), using the current thread's culture to obtain a format provider.
Overrides
System.ValueType.ToString()

ToString(String, IFormatProvider)

Formats the value of the current instance using the specified pattern.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public string ToString(string patternText, IFormatProvider formatProvider)
Parameters
Type Name Description
String patternText The System.String specifying the pattern to use, or null to use the default format pattern ("g").
IFormatProvider formatProvider The System.IFormatProvider to use when formatting the value, or null to use the current thread's culture to obtain a format provider.
Returns
Type Description
String A System.String containing the value of the current instance in the specified format.

ToUnixTimeTicks()

The number of ticks since the Unix epoch. Negative values represent instants before the Unix epoch.
Since 1.4.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public long ToUnixTimeTicks()
Returns
Type Description
Int64 The number of ticks since the Unix epoch.
Remarks
A tick is equal to 100 nanoseconds. There are 10,000 ticks in a millisecond.

WithOffset(Offset)

Returns the OffsetDateTime representing the same point in time as this instant, with the specified UTC offset in the ISO calendar system.
Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public OffsetDateTime WithOffset(Offset offset)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Offset offset The offset from UTC with which to represent this instant.
Returns
Type Description
OffsetDateTime An OffsetDateTime for the same instant, with the given offset in the ISO calendar system

WithOffset(Offset, CalendarSystem)

Returns the OffsetDateTime representing the same point in time as this instant, with the specified UTC offset and calendar system.
Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public OffsetDateTime WithOffset(Offset offset, CalendarSystem calendar)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Offset offset The offset from UTC with which to represent this instant.
CalendarSystem calendar The calendar system in which to represent this instant.
Returns
Type Description
OffsetDateTime An OffsetDateTime for the same instant, with the given offset and calendar
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentNullException calendar is null.

Operators

Addition(Instant, Duration)

Implements the operator + (addition) for Instant + Duration.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant operator +(Instant left, Duration right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Duration right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the sum of the given values.

Equality(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator == (equality).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator ==(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if values are equal to each other, otherwise false.

GreaterThan(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator > (greater than).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator>(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the left value is greater than the right value, otherwise false.

GreaterThanOrEqual(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator >= (greater than or equal).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator >=(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the left value is greater than or equal to the right value, otherwise false.

Inequality(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator != (inequality).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator !=(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if values are not equal to each other, otherwise false.

LessThan(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator < (less than).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator <(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the left value is less than the right value, otherwise false.

LessThanOrEqual(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator <= (less than or equal).
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static bool operator <=(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Boolean true if the left value is less than or equal to the right value, otherwise false.

Subtraction(Instant, Duration)

Implements the operator - (subtraction) for Instant - Duration.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Instant operator -(Instant left, Duration right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Duration right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Instant A new Instant representing the difference of the given values.

Subtraction(Instant, Instant)

Implements the operator - (subtraction) for Instant - Instant.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
public static Duration operator -(Instant left, Instant right)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Instant left The left hand side of the operator.
Instant right The right hand side of the operator.
Returns
Type Description
Duration A new Instant representing the difference of the given values.

Explicit Interface Implementations

IComparable.CompareTo(Object)

Implementation of System.IComparable.CompareTo(System.Object) to compare two instants.
Since 1.0.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
int IComparable.CompareTo(object obj)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Object obj The object to compare this value with.
Returns
Type Description
Int32 The result of comparing this instant with another one; see CompareTo(Instant) for general details. If obj is null, this method returns a value greater than 0.
Remarks
This uses explicit interface implementation to avoid it being called accidentally. The generic implementation should usually be preferred.
Exceptions
Type Condition
ArgumentException obj is non-null but does not refer to an instance of Instant.

ISerializable.GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)

Implementation of System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable.GetObjectData(System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationInfo, System.Runtime.Serialization.StreamingContext).
Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client
Declaration
[SecurityCritical]
void ISerializable.GetObjectData(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context)
Parameters
Type Name Description
SerializationInfo info The System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationInfo to populate with data.
StreamingContext context The destination for this serialization.

IXmlSerializable.GetSchema()

Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
XmlSchema IXmlSerializable.GetSchema()
Returns
Type Description
XmlSchema

IXmlSerializable.ReadXml(XmlReader)

Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
void IXmlSerializable.ReadXml(XmlReader reader)
Parameters
Type Name Description
XmlReader reader

IXmlSerializable.WriteXml(XmlWriter)

Since 1.2.x
Availability net35-Client, PCL
Declaration
void IXmlSerializable.WriteXml(XmlWriter writer)
Parameters
Type Name Description
XmlWriter writer

Implements

System.IEquatable<T>
System.IComparable<T>
System.IFormattable
System.IComparable
System.Xml.Serialization.IXmlSerializable
System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable