Java Date Format

There are two classes for formatting dates in Java: DateFormat and SimpleDateFormat.

The java.text.DateFormat class provides various methods to format and parse date and time in java in language-independent manner. The DateFormat class is an abstract class. java.text. The Format is the parent class and java.text.SimpleDateFormat is the subclass of java.text.DateFormat class.

In Java, converting the date into the string is called formatting and vice-versa parsing. In other words, formatting means date to string, and parsing means string to date.

java.text.DateFormat Fields

  protected Calendar calendar  protected NumberFormat numberFormat  public static final int ERA_FIELD  public static final int YEAR_FIELD  public static final int MONTH_FIELD  public static final int DATE_FIELD  public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD  public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD  public static final int MINUTE_FIELD  public static final int SECOND_FIELD  public static final int MILLISECOND_FIELD  public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD  public static final int DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD  public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD  public static final int WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD  public static final int WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD  public static final int AM_PM_FIELD  public static final int HOUR1_FIELD  public static final int HOUR0_FIELD  public static final int TIMEZONE_FIELD  public static final int FULL  public static final int LONG  public static final int MEDIUM  public static final int SHORT  public static final int DEFAULT  

java.text.DateFormat Methods

No.	Public Method	Description
1)	final String format(Date date)	converts given Date object into string.
2)	Date parse(String source)throws ParseException	converts string into Date object.
3)	static final DateFormat getTimeInstance()	returns time formatter with default formatting style for the default locale.
4)	static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style)	returns time formatter with the given formatting style for the default locale.
5)	static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style, Locale locale)	returns time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
6)	static final DateFormat getDateInstance()	returns date formatter with default formatting style for the default locale.
7)	static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style)	returns date formatter with the given formatting style for the default locale.
8)	static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style, Locale locale)	returns date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
9)	static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance()	returns date/time formatter with default formatting style for the default locale.
10)	static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle,int timeStyle)	returns date/time formatter with the given date formatting style and time formatting style for the default locale.
11)	static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale locale)	returns date/time formatter with the given date formatting style and time formatting style for the given locale.
12)	static final DateFormat getInstance()	returns date/time formatter with short formatting style for date and time.
13)	static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()	returns an array of available locales.
14)	Calendar getCalendar()	returns an instance of Calendar for this DateFormat instance.
15)	NumberFormat getNumberFormat()	returns an instance of NumberFormat for this DateFormat instance.
16)	TimeZone getTimeZone()	returns an instance of TimeZone for this DateFormat instance.

Java DateFormat Example: Date to String

Let’s see the simple example to format date and time in Java using java.text.DateFormat class.

FileName: DateFormatExample.java

  import java.text.DateFormat;  import java.util.Date;  public class DateFormatExample {  public static void main(String[] args) {  Date currentDate = new Date();  System.out.println(“Current Date: “+currentDate);  String dateToStr = DateFormat.getInstance().format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getInstance(): “+dateToStr);  }  }  

Output:

Current Date: Tue Mar 31 14:37:23 IST 2015  Date Format using getInstance(): 31/3/15 2:37 PM

Let’s see the full example to format date and time in Java using java.text.DateFormat class.

FileName: DateFormatExample2.java

  import java.text.DateFormat;  import java.util.Date;  public class DateFormatExample2 {  public static void main(String[] args) {  Date currentDate = new Date();  System.out.println(“Current Date: “+currentDate);    String dateToStr = DateFormat.getInstance().format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getInstance(): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getDateInstance().format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getDateInstance(): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getTimeInstance().format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getTimeInstance(): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance().format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getDateTimeInstance(): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT).format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getTimeInstance(DateFormat.MEDIUM).format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.MEDIUM): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG).format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG): “+dateToStr);    dateToStr = DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG,DateFormat.SHORT).format(currentDate);  System.out.println(“Date Format using getDateTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG,DateFormat.SHORT): “+dateToStr);    }  }  

Output:

Current Date: Tue Mar 31 14:37:23 IST 2015  Date Format using getInstance(): 31/3/15 2:37 PM  Date Format using getDateInstance(): 31 Mar, 2015  Date Format using getTimeInstance(): 2:37:23 PM  Date Format using getDateTimeInstance(): 31 Mar, 2015 2:37:23 PM  Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT): 2:37 PM  Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.MEDIUM): 2:37:23 PM  Date Format using getTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG): 2:37:23 PM IST  Date Format using getDateTimeInstance(DateFormat.LONG,DateFormat.SHORT): 31 March, 2015 2:37 PM

Java DateFormat Example: String to Date

Let’s see the simple example to convert string into date using java.text.DateFormat class.

FileName: DateFormatExample3.java

  import java.text.DateFormat;  import java.util.Date;  public class DateFormatExample3 {  public static void main(String[] args)throws Exception {  Date d = DateFormat.getDateInstance().parse(“31 Mar, 2015”);  System.out.println(“Date is: “+d);  }  }  

Output:

Date is: Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 IST 2015

Java DateFormat Example: getTimeInstance(int style, Locale locale)

Let’s see the working of the getTimeInstance(int style, Locale locale) method.

FileName: GetTimeInstanceExample.java

  // important important statements  import java.util.Date;  import java.util.Locale;  import java.text.DateFormat;        public class GetTimeInstanceExample  {  // main method       public static void main(String argvs[]) throws Exception   {    // locale is French here.  Locale lcl = Locale.FRENCH;    // creating an object of the class Date  Date d = new Date();    // getting the instance by invoking the getTimeInstance(int, Locale) method  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT, lcl);    String str = dFormat.format(d);  System.out.println(str);  }  }  

Output:

13:12

Java DateFormat Example: getDateInstance(int style)

Let’s see the working of the getDateInstance(int style) method.

FileName: GetDateInstanceExample.java

  // important important statements  import java.util.Date;  import java.util.Locale;  import java.text.DateFormat;    public class GetDateInstanceExample  {  // main method       public static void main(String argvs[]) throws Exception   {    // creating an object of the class Date  Date d = new Date();    // getting the instance by invoking the getDateInstance(int) method  // here default locale is used  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.SHORT);    String str = dFormat.format(d);  System.out.println(str);  }  }  

Output:

12/2/21

Java DateFormat Example: getDateInstance(int style, Locale locale)

Let’s see the working of the getDateInstance(int style, Locale locale) method.

FileName: GetDateInstanceExample1.java

  // important important statements  import java.util.Date;  import java.util.Locale;  import java.text.DateFormat;  public class GetDateInstanceExample1  {  // main method       public static void main(String argvs[]) throws Exception   {  // locale is French here.  Locale lcl = Locale.FRENCH;    // creating an object of the class Date  Date d = new Date();    // getting the instance by invoking the getDateInstance(int, Locale) method  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.SHORT, lcl);    String str = dFormat.format(d);  System.out.println(str);  }  }  

Output:

02/12/2021

Java DateFormat Example: getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale locale)

Let’s see the working of the getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale locale) method.

FileName: GetDateTimeInstanceExample.java

  // important important statements  import java.util.Date;  import java.util.Locale;  import java.text.DateFormat;  public class GetDateTimeInstanceExample  {  // main method       public static void main(String argvs[]) throws Exception   {  // locale is French here.  Locale lcl = Locale.FRENCH;  // creating an object of the class Date  Date d = new Date();  // getting the instance by invoking the getDateTimeInstance(int, int, Locale) method  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT, DateFormat.LONG, lcl);  String str = dFormat.format(d);  System.out.println(str);  }  }  

Output:

02/12/2021 14:16:34 GMT

Java DateFormat Example: getCalender()

Let’s see the working of the getCalender() method.

FileName: GetCalenderExample.java

  // important import statements  import java.util.Date;  import java.text.DateFormat;  import java.text.*;  public class GetCalenderExample  {  // main method       public static void main(String argvs[]) throws Exception   {  // getting the instance  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getDateTimeInstance();  // invoking the method getCalender();  System.out.println(dFormat.getCalendar());  }  }  

Output:

java.util.GregorianCalendar[time = -886152493222, areFieldsSet = true, areAllFieldsSet = true, lenient = true, zone = sun.util.calendar.ZoneInfo[id = "GMT", offset=0, dstSavings = 0, useDaylight = false, transitions = 0, lastRule = null], firstDayOfWeek = 1, minimalDaysInFirstWeek = 1,ERA = 1, YEAR = 1941, MONTH = 11, WEEK_OF_YEAR = 49, WEEK_OF_MONTH = 1, DAY_OF_MONTH = 2, DAY_OF_YEAR = 336, DAY_OF_WEEK = 3, DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH = 1, AM_PM = 1, HOUR = 2, HOUR_OF_DAY = 14, MINUTE = 31, SECOND = 46, MILLISECOND = 778, ZONE_OFFSET = 0, DST_OFFSET = 0]

Java DateFormat Example: getNumberFormat()

Let’s see the working of the getNumberFormat() method.

FileName: GetNumberFormatExample.java

  // important import statements  import java.text.NumberFormat;  import java.text.DateFormat;    public class DateFormatDemo  {  // main  method  public static void main(String[] argvs)  {    // getting the instance by invoking the getTimeInstance() method  DateFormat dFormat = DateFormat.getTimeInstance(DateFormat.SHORT);    // invoking the method getNumberFormat()  NumberFormat numFormat = dFormat.getNumberFormat();    System.out.println(“The format is: ” + numFormat);    }  }  

Output:

The format is: [email protected]

Next TopicJava SimpleDateFormat

Java DateFormat

Java Date Format

java.text.DateFormat Fields

java.text.DateFormat Methods

Java DateFormat Example: Date to String

Java DateFormat Example: String to Date

Java DateFormat Example: getTimeInstance(int style, Locale locale)

Java DateFormat Example: getDateInstance(int style)

Java DateFormat Example: getDateInstance(int style, Locale locale)

Java DateFormat Example: getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale locale)

Java DateFormat Example: getCalender()

Java DateFormat Example: getNumberFormat()

Java Static Import

Java BoxLayout

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