Getting GMT as Unix Epoch in VB.NET

[!NoItAll]

Hi:
I have to convert a data (not the current date) to GMT and represent it as a Unix Epoch.

This is what I'm trying - it returns something that looks correct - but I'd like to know if anyone with more experience knows if I am doing this correctly.

 
Friend Function GetEpoch(ByVal dDate as Date) as Integer
 
Return (dDate.ToFileTimeUtc - New DateTime(1970, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0).ToFileTimeUtc) / 10000000
 
End Function
 
 

[Plater]

Hmm, I am not sure why you go to filetime and divide by that large number, but if it works, it works?

If I did it in c# (and in a non-condensed way)

public long GetEpoch(DateTime dDate)
{
   DateTime epoch = new DateTime(1970, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);
   DateTime myUTC = dDate.ToUniversalTime();
   return ((DateTime)(myUTC - epoch)).Ticks;
}