Convert time to easy to read strings

c#, datetime, sql-server

Solution

Your best bet is to make a `DateTime` extension method:

public static class DateTimeExtensions
{
    public static string ToRelative(this DateTime value)
    {        
        DateTime now = DateTime.Now; //maybe UtcNow if you're into that

        TimeSpan span = new TimeSpan(now.Ticks - value.Ticks);
        double seconds = Math.Abs(ts.TotalSeconds);

        if (seconds < 60)
            return string.Format("{0} seconds ago", span.Seconds);

        if (seconds < 2700)
            return string.Format("{0} minutes ago", span.Minutes);

        if (seconds < 86400)
            return string.Format("{0} hours ago", span.Hours);

        // repeat for greater "ago" times...
    }
}

Then make your call on your `DateTime` value like so:

myDateTime.ToRelative();

Problem

Original source

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• Calculate relative time in C#