The correct way to use a PersianCalendar column as a column in an entity structure

Question

I have an ASP.NET Web API project in which I am trying to save my date using the Persian calendar. Here is my POCO class.

public class Person { PersianCalendar p = new PersianCalendar(); public Person() { } public Person(string firstName, string lastName, PersianCalendar birthDate) { FirstName = firstName; LastName = lastName; DateOfBirth = birthDate; } public int PersonId { get; set; } public string FirstName { get; set; } public string LastName { get; set; } public PersianCalendar DateOfBirth { get; set; } } 

I created a POST method for my API.

  public HttpResponseMessage Post([FromBody] Person _p) { try { db.Persons.Add(_p); db.SaveChanges(); var msg = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.Created, _p); msg.Headers.Location = new Uri(Request.RequestUri + _p.PersonId.ToString()); return msg; } catch(Exception ex) { return Request.CreateErrorResponse(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, ex); } } 

and I submit my POST request using Fiddler.

but in Chrome Dev Tools, the BirthDate breakpoint of my Person class is null. Can someone help me with what's wrong? How can I send my date in Persian format?

Answer 1

DateOfBirth in your POCO model must not be of type PersianCalendar . The calendar is used to manage DateTime objects, not as a container of DateTime objects.

Your model should store the date of birth as a regular DateTime , then you can use PersianCalendar to manipulate it. An easy (but slightly ugly) way to do this is to have a DateTime field and a separate public string property to get and set the date formatted in the Persian calendar:

 public class Person { PersianCalendar p = new PersianCalendar(); public Person() { } public Person(string firstName, string lastName, DateTime birthDate) { FirstName = firstName; LastName = lastName; DateOfBirth = birthDate; } public Person(string firstName, string lastName, string birthDateString) { FirstName = firstName; LastName = lastName; DateOfBirthString = birthDateString; } public int PersonId { get; set; } public string FirstName { get; set; } public string LastName { get; set; } public DateTime DateOfBirth; public string DateOfBirthString { get { return string.Format("{0}/{1}/{2}", p.GetYear(DateOfBirth), p.GetMonth(DateOfBirth), p.GetDayOfMonth(DateOfBirth)); } set { var parts = value.Split('/'); DateOfBirth = p.ToDateTime(int.Parse(parts[0]), int.Parse(parts[1]), int.Parse(parts[2]), 0, 0, 0, 0); } } } 

Keep in mind that a DateTime represents a generic particular moment in time. It does not have a uniquely correct string representation. But if you use something like the one I have above, then you think that for your application the only valid string representation is the Persian date formatted as yyyy/MM/dd .

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EDIT . You can also create a custom JSON JsonConverter and use it in your model. Your POCO model might look like this:

 public class Person { public Person() { } public Person(string firstName, string lastName, DateTime birthDate) { FirstName = firstName; LastName = lastName; DateOfBirth = birthDate; } public int PersonId { get; set; } public string FirstName { get; set; } public string LastName { get; set; } [JsonConverter(typeof(PersianDateConverter))] public DateTime DateOfBirth; } 

And the PersianDateConverter class looks like this:

 public class PersianDateConverter : JsonConverter { PersianCalendar pc = new PersianCalendar(); public PersianDateConverter() { } public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer) { string persianDateString = reader.Value as string; if (persianDateString == null) throw new ArgumentException("Error in PersionDateConverter.ReadJson: Got null string"); var parts = persianDateString.Split('/'); return pc.ToDateTime(int.Parse(parts[0]), int.Parse(parts[1]), int.Parse(parts[2]), 0, 0, 0, 0); } public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer) { DateTime d = (DateTime)value; string output = string.Format("{0}/{1}/{2}", pc.GetYear(d), pc.GetMonth(d), pc.GetDayOfMonth(d)); writer.WriteValue(output); } public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType) { if (objectType.Name == "DateTime") return true; return false; } } 

Note This PersianDateConverter not very well tested for edge cases. It seems to be working fine as long as the data it manages is valid.