don't use DateTime.Parse(). DateTime.ParseExact() instead

It seems that very few people know that DateTime.Parse() is COM dependent, evil one. Since we don't support COM, those COM dependent functionality won't work fine on Mono.

Moreover, even in Microsoft.NET, there is no assurance that such string that DateTime.Parse() accepts on your machine is acceptable under other machines. Basically DateTime.Parse() is for newbies who don't mind unpredictable behavior.

Yes,

instead of

is quite annoying because of its lengthy parameters. If you think so, you can push Microsoft to provide an equivalent shortcut, like I did. But first thing you should do right now is to prepare your own MyDateTime.Parse() that just returns the same result of the above. It's also true to several culture-dependent String methods (IndexOf, LastIndexOf, Compare, StartsWith, EndsWith - all of them are culture sensitive, even with InvariantCulture) to avoid unexpected matches/comparisons (remember that "eno" and "eno\u3007" are regarded as equivalent).