VB.Net program to demonstrate the Compare() method of DateTime class

Here, we are going to demonstrate the Compare() method of DateTime class in VB.Net.
Submitted by Nidhi, on January 21, 2021 [Last updated : March 07, 2023]

DateTime.Compare() Method in VB.Net

The Compare() method is used to compare two date objects and return an integer value to specify the result of comparison.

Syntax

Function Compare(ByVal date1 as Date, ByVal date2 as Date) as Integer

Parameter(s)

Date1 : First specified date object.
Date2 : Second specified date object.

Return Value

It returns an integer value,

0 : Both dates are equal.
1 : The first date is earlier than the second date.
-1 : The second date is earlier than the first date.

VB.Net code to demonstrate the example of DateTime.Compare() method

The source code to demonstrate the Compare() method of the DateTime class is given below. The given program is compiled and executed successfully.

'VB.NET program to demonstrate Compare() method of 
'DateTime class.

Imports System

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        Dim date1 As New DateTime(2020, 4, 27)
        Dim date2 As New DateTime(2021, 3, 28)
        Dim date3 As New DateTime(2021, 3, 28)
        Dim ret As Integer = 0

        ret = DateTime.Compare(date1, date2)
        If (ret < 0) Then
            Console.WriteLine("{0} is earlier than {1}", date1, date2)
        ElseIf (ret = 0) Then
            Console.WriteLine("{0} and {1} are equal", date1, date2)
        Else
            Console.WriteLine("{0} is earlier than {1}", date2, date1)
        End If

        ret = DateTime.Compare(date2, date3)
        If (ret < 0) Then
            Console.WriteLine("{0} is earlier than {1}", date1, date2)
        ElseIf (ret = 0) Then
            Console.WriteLine("{0} and {1} are equal", date1, date2)
        Else
            Console.WriteLine("{0} is earlier than {1}", date2, date1)
        End If
    End Sub
End Module

Output

27-04-2020 00:00:00 is earlier than 28-03-2021 00:00:00
27-04-2020 00:00:00 and 28-03-2021 00:00:00 are equal
Press any key to continue . . .

Explanation

In the above program, we created a module Module1 that contains the Main() function. The Main() function is the entry point for the program.

In the Main() function, we created three objects of the DateTime class that are initialized with date values. Then we compared date objects and print the appropriate message on the console screen.