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I have my ASP.NET webservice whicn runs on my local computer in my test environment. My local computers UTC time is +1 (denmark). Now I have these methods available to my javascript client:

[WebMethod(EnableSession=true)]
public DateTime GetDateTime() {
  return new DateTime(2013,3,15,10,0,0);
}

[WebMethod(EnableSession=true)]
public void SetDateTime(DateTime DT) {

}

When I call the first method from javascript and alerts the passed DateTime, it correctly shows the 10 AM time: 'Fri Mar 15 2013 10:00:00 GMT+0100 (Romance Standard Time)' Immediately after this alert, I pass the DateTime object back to the webserver. But when I debug this object, the DateTime is now 9 AM. How come? The client and the server runs on the same machine. I´ve played around with DateTime.SpecifyKind, but overall the result is the same; the client subtracts an hour when the time is sent back to the server.

Hope you can help me get a better understanding of this subject.

Thank you in advance.

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.NET's DateTime handles timezones terribly. You should either explicitly pass around the time-zone between JS and the server (not really sure how with WebMethods though), use UTC throughout and only deal with the timezone when presenting the time to the user, or try if using DateTimeOffset helps. (DateTimeOffset should be properly time-zone-aware, but might not Just Work with a JSON service.) –  millimoose Mar 4 at 12:52
 
can you show your client side code?? –  Manish Mishra Mar 4 at 12:53
 
@millimoose - So you mean I should stop using DateTime as an object, and instead parse date strings on either side? The DateTimeOffset just seems to complicate tings even more? –  Farsen Mar 4 at 13:30
 
@ManishMishra - The javascript code is very simple: $(document).ready(function () { WebService.NameSpace.NameSpace.GetDateTime(CallBackFunction, CallFailed); } function CallBackFunction(DateObject) { alert(DateObject); WebService.NameSpace.NameSpace.SetDateTime(DateObject); } –  Farsen Mar 4 at 13:33
 
@Farsen The DateTimeOffset suggestion was just a longshot - either swapping it in for DateTime will instantly fix the bug you're having (and then you can just convert DateTimeOffset to whichever kind of DateTime in the rest of your code), or it's not worth investigating further. –  millimoose Mar 4 at 13:39
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1 Answer

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@millimoose I´ve tried the DateTimeOffset solution, but it didnt really help. I am not sure if I used it 100% correctly though. What now works for me is this:

Before I send the DateTime(s) from the server to the client, I dont do anything to the DateTime (such as setting UTC). The javascript client then shows the correct time. When the javascript sends the time back to the server, an hour is added. Then I call .ToLocalTime(); on the DateTime object, and the time is now correct.

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