In C#, both Parse
and TryParse
are methods used for converting strings to their corresponding data types, but they differ in how they handle potential errors during the conversion process. Here is the Difference Between Parse and TryParse in C#:
Difference Between Parse and TryParse in C#
Parse Method:
The Parse
method is available on various numeric and date/time types like int
, double
, DateTime
, etc. It attempts to convert a string representation of a value into the specified data type. If the conversion fails due to an invalid format or value, a FormatException
is thrown. Here’s an example of using Parse
:
string numberStr = "123";
int number = int.Parse(numberStr);
If numberStr
were not a valid integer string, a FormatException
would be thrown.
TryParse Method:
The TryParse
method is a more forgiving approach to parsing strings. It’s also available on various numeric and date/time types. It attempts to convert a string representation of a value into the specified data type, but instead of throwing an exception on failure, it returns a boolean indicating whether the conversion was successful, and if it was, it also outputs the parsed value. Here’s an example of using TryParse
:
string numberStr = "123";
bool success = int.TryParse(numberStr, out int number);
if (success)
{
// Conversion was successful, use the 'number' variable.
}
else
{
// Conversion failed, handle the error appropriately.
}
In this example, if numberStr
is not a valid integer string, the success
variable will be false
, and the number
the variable will be set to 0
(default value for int
).
Conclusion
Parse
throws an exception on failure, making it suitable when you expect the input to always be in the correct format.TryParse
returns a boolean indicating success and doesn’t throw exceptions, making it more suitable when you’re unsure about the quality of the input data.
Using TryParse
is generally recommended for scenarios where you want to handle potential errors gracefully without crashing your application.