CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#datetimeclock
philn
philn

Reputation: 323

Run custom "clock" / DateTime.now c#

I need to simulate a clock that is fairly precise. I need some kind of DateTime.Now, not for the local time, but for a web server's time(which can differ a few seconds from system time).

The thing is I need to be accurate, even 3 seconds is way too much difference. Any way to create a DateTime object and then "let it run" so it shows the current server time?

PS: Not talking about a time server, but a normal web server. Can I avoid setting the system time to server time?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1154

Answers (2)

philn
philn

Reputation: 323

So this is what I have come up with:

public class ServerTime
{
    public static DateTime Now
    {
        get
        {
            if (baseTime != null)
                return baseTime.Add(swatch.Elapsed);
            else
                return DateTime.Now;
        }
        set
        {
            baseTime = value;
            swatch.Reset();
            swatch.Start();
        }
    }

    private static DateTime baseTime;
    private static Stopwatch swatch = new Stopwatch();

}

Not really sure how to handle ServerTime.Now if the baseTime was not set yet. I would probably never call this property before it was set, but as always: Don't trust your own code.

Upvotes: 0

Joey
Joey

Reputation: 354356

DateTime.Now is not very accurate, especially not for measuring time differences. »Letting it run« suggests that you actually want to use a Stopwatch and a separate DateTime as starting time. You can then generate a current timestamp by just adding your start time and the elapsed time of the Stopwatch.

Upvotes: 2

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