Convert TimeSpan, Long

In the C# programming language, TimeSpan and long are the same number of bytes. It is possible to store a TimeSpan as a long.

Conversion info

Converting a TimeSpan to a long can be done with the Ticks property on TimeSpan. It is easier to persist a long in storage.

Example

In this program, we get two DateTimes. Then we get the difference as a TimeSpan instance. Next, we convert that TimeSpan into a long Ticks.

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Difference between today and yesterday.
        DateTime yesterday = DateTime.Now.Subtract(TimeSpan.FromDays(1));
        DateTime now = DateTime.Now;
        TimeSpan diff = now.Subtract(yesterday);

        // TimeSpan can be represented as a long [ticks].
        long ticks = diff.Ticks;

        // You can convert a long [ticks] back into TimeSpan.
        TimeSpan ts = TimeSpan.FromTicks(ticks);

        // Display.
        Console.WriteLine(ts);

        // Note: long and TimeSpan are the same number of bytes [8].
        unsafe
        {
            Console.WriteLine(sizeof(long));
            Console.WriteLine(sizeof(TimeSpan));
        }
    }
}
1.00:00:00.0010000
8
8

Byte count

In the unsafe context, the program shows that a long is 8 bytes and a TimeSpan is also 8 bytes. Therefore, it is logical for one to fit in the other.

Summary

It is possible to convert from a TimeSpan and a long using the Ticks property and the FromTicks method. Sometimes a long representation is more useful for external systems.