VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

TimeSerial Function

Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime

Syntax

TimeSerial(hour, minute, second)

hour (required; Integer)

A number in the range 0 to 23

minute (required; Integer)

Any valid integer

second (required; Integer)

Any valid integer

Return Value

A Date representing the time specified by the arguments to the function

Description

Constructs a valid time given a number of hours, minutes, and seconds

Rules at a Glance

• Any of the arguments can be specified as relative values or expressions.

• The hour argument requires a 24-hour clock format; however, the returned time is determined by the system’s regional settings.

• If any value is greater than the normal range for the time unit to which it relates, the next higher time unit is increased accordingly. For example, a second argument of 125 will be evaluated as 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

• If any value is less than zero, the next higher time unit is decreased accordingly. For example, TimeSerial(2,-1,30) returns 01:59:30.

Programming Tips and Gotchas

Because TimeSerial handles time units outside of their normal limits, it can be used for time calculations. However, because the DateAdd function is more flexible and is internationally aware, it should be used instead for this purpose.

See Also

TimeOfDay Property, TimeString Property, TimeValue Function