JSON date getting the wrong date

Question

I am using JQUERY ajax to call an MVC method:

JQUERY:

$.ajax({
            type: "POST",
            contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
            url: "/Home/GetApplication/" + id,
            dataType: "json",
            data: '',
            timeout: 10000,
            success: function (obj) {

                $('#Name').val(obj.Name);
                $('#ApplicationIdentifier').val(obj.ApplicationIdentifier);
                $('#Frequency').val(obj.FrequencyValue);
                var d = new Date(parseInt(obj.BaseDate.substr(6)));
                $('#BaseDate').val(d.getMonth() + '/' + d.getDay() + '/' + d.getFullYear());

            },
            error: function () {
                return;
            }
        });

MVC Method:

[HttpPost]
        public ActionResult GetApplication(int id)
        {
            return Json(new Application
                            {
                                Name = "Testing",
                                ApplicationIdentifier = "123ABC",
                                FrequencyValue = 1,
                                FrequencyType = 1,
                                BaseDate = DateTime.Now
                            });
        }

All of this works fine except the date appearing on my form is 4/5/2011 and it should be 5/13/2011. Am I missing something here? Thanks.

What's the value look like in the return JSON for obj.BaseDate? — onteria_
– onteria_, Commented May 13, 2011 at 14:54
What does obj.BaseDate look like when it comes back from the AJAX call? — thedaian
– thedaian, Commented May 13, 2011 at 14:54

Eli · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-13 15:08:01Z

1

Working with dates and times between JavaScript and .NET can be difficult, and we usually handle this in our applications by always making the interaction in Unix Time:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult GetApplication(int id)
{
    DateTime unixTime = new DateTime(1970, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);

    return Json(new Application
        {
            Name = "Testing",
            ApplicationIdentifier = "123ABC",
            FrequencyValue = 1,
            FrequencyType = 1,
            BaseDate = (DateTime.Now - unixTime).TotalMilliseconds
         });
}

Now that your JavaScript application has the Unix Time, it can easily be converted to a Date (you are also formatting your date string incorrectly):

$.ajax({
    type: "POST",
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    url: "/Home/GetApplication/" + id,
    dataType: "json",
    data: '',
    timeout: 10000,
    success: function (obj) {
        var d = new Date(obj.BaseDate);
        var dateString = (d.getMonth() + 1) + '/' + d.getDate() + '/' + d.getFullYear();

        $('#Name').val(obj.Name);
        $('#ApplicationIdentifier').val(obj.ApplicationIdentifier);
        $('#Frequency').val(obj.FrequencyValue);
        $('#BaseDate').val(dateString);
    },
    error: function () {
        return;
    }
});

Also, I wouldn't return your EF entity to the front-end, only give it what it really needs. By using a dynamic object, your types can be inferred here, and BaseDate becomes whatever type you give it:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult GetApplication(int id)
{
    DateTime unixTime = new DateTime(1970, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0);

    return Json(new { 
            Name = "Testing",
            ApplicationIdentifier = "123ABC",
            FrequencyValue = 1,
            BaseDate = (DateTime.Now - unixTime).TotalMilliseconds
         });
}

edited May 13, 2011 at 15:08

answered May 13, 2011 at 15:01

Eli

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3 Comments

Cyberdrew Over a year ago

BaseDate is a DateTime column from EF. I get the error cannot convert double to DateTime.

Eli Over a year ago

You need to not return that field to the front end. Only give the front end what it needs.

Cyberdrew Over a year ago

This worked great, I just skipped the whole unix date thing and did DateTime.Now.ToString("M/d/yyyy") I dont care about it being a date in my form as long as it's formatted correctly. Thank you.

wsanville · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-13 14:59:58Z

1

getMonth() returns a value between 0 and 11, so just add 1 to it (source).

answered May 13, 2011 at 14:59

wsanville

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Comments

Brian Webster · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-15 23:16:07Z

1

getMonth() returns 0-11; getDay() gets the day of the week!

edited Feb 15, 2013 at 23:16

Brian Webster

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answered May 13, 2011 at 15:04

Michael Lorton

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Comments

thedaian · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-13 15:03:57Z

0

The way I turn a \/Date(1234567889)\/ into a date that javascript can use is this: obj.BaseDate.slice(6, obj.BaseDate.length - 2);

Microsoft's date serialization causes the string, so you have to strip out everything other than the number.

That entire line would become var d = new Date(parseInt(obj.BaseDate.slice(6, obj.BaseDate.length - 2)));

edited May 13, 2011 at 15:03

answered May 13, 2011 at 14:57

thedaian

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2 Comments

Cyberdrew Over a year ago

I get DateTime is not defined

thedaian Over a year ago

That's what I get for copy/pasting from my own code. I've fixed the code examples.

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