Int32.Parse() VS Convert.ToInt32()?

Question

intID1 = Int32.Parse(myValue.ToString());
intID2 = Convert.ToInt32(myValue);

Which one is better and why?

Answer 1

They are exactly the same, except that Convert.ToInt32(null) returns 0.

Convert.ToInt32 is defined as follows:

    public static int ToInt32(String value) {
        if (value == null) 
            return 0;
        return Int32.Parse(value, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
    }

Answer 2

It depends on what you mean by "better" because "better" is subjective.

For instance - code readability. Some people prefer to see "Convert" in their code; others prefer to see "Parse".

In terms of speed, they're also both roughly equal according to these benchmarks.

Or do you always wants a value returned? As others have mentioned, ConvertTo returns a 0 (zero) for null values whereas you don't get that option with Parse.

Answer 3

Well, Reflector says...

public static int ToInt32(string value)
{
    if (value == null)
    {
        return 0;
    }
    return int.Parse(value, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
}

public static int Parse(string s)
{
    return Number.ParseInt32(s, NumberStyles.Integer, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo);
}

So they're basically the same except that Convert.ToInt32() does an added null check.