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Class DateFormat

java.lang.Object

java.text.Format

java.text.DateFormat

All Implemented Interfaces:: Serializable, Cloneable

Direct Known Subclasses:: SimpleDateFormat

public abstract class DateFormat extends Format

DateFormat is an abstract class for date/time formatting subclasses which formats and parses dates or time in a language-independent manner. The date/time formatting subclass, such as SimpleDateFormat, allows for formatting (i.e., date → text), parsing (text → date), and normalization. The date is represented as a Date object or as the milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.

DateFormat provides static factory methods for obtaining default date/time formatters based on the default or a given locale and a number of formatting styles. The formatting styles include FULL, LONG, MEDIUM, and SHORT. For any of the factory methods with the parameter style, an IllegalArgumentException will be thrown if style is not equal to any of the defined formatting styles. More detail and examples of using these styles are provided in the method descriptions.

DateFormat helps you to format and parse dates for any locale. Your code can be completely independent of the locale conventions for months, days of the week, or even the calendar format: lunar vs. solar.

To format a date for the current Locale, use one of the static factory methods:

myString = DateFormat.getDateInstance().format(myDate);

If you are formatting multiple dates, it is more efficient to get the format and use it multiple times so that the system doesn't have to fetch the information about the local language and country conventions multiple times.

DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance();
for (Date myDate : dates) {
    output.println(df.format(myDate) + "; ");
}

To format a date for a different Locale, specify it in the call to getDateInstance().

DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.LONG, Locale.FRANCE);

If the specified locale contains "ca" (calendar), "rg" (region override), and/or "tz" (timezone) Unicode extensions, the calendar, the country and/or the time zone for formatting are overridden. If both "ca" and "rg" are specified, the calendar from the "ca" extension supersedes the implicit one from the "rg" extension.

You can use a DateFormat to parse also.

myDate = df.parse(myString);

Use getDateInstance to get the normal date format for that country. There are other static factory methods available. Use getTimeInstance to get the time format for that country. Use getDateTimeInstance to get a date and time format. You can pass in different options to these factory methods to control the length of the result; from SHORT to MEDIUM to LONG to FULL. The exact result depends on the locale, but generally:

SHORT is the shortest and mainly numeric, such as 12.13.52 or 3:30pm
MEDIUM is longer, such as Jan 12, 1952
LONG is even longer, such as January 12, 1952 or 3:30:32pm
FULL is the longest, such as Tuesday, April 12, 1952 AD or 3:30:42pm PST.

For those fields with text, typically abbreviated text form is used with MEDIUM option, and full text form is used with LONG and FULL options.

You can also set the time zone on the format if you wish. If you want even more control over the format or parsing, (or want to give your users more control), you can try casting the DateFormat you get from the factory methods to a SimpleDateFormat. This will work for the majority of countries; just remember to put it in a try block in case you encounter an unusual one.

You can also use forms of the parse and format methods with ParsePosition and FieldPosition to allow you to

progressively parse through pieces of a string.
align any particular field, or find out where it is for selection on the screen.

Synchronization

Date formats are not synchronized. It is recommended to create separate format instances for each thread. If multiple threads access a format concurrently, it must be synchronized externally.

API Note:

Consider using DateTimeFormatter as an immutable and thread-safe alternative.

Implementation Requirements:

The format(Date, StringBuffer, FieldPosition) and parse(String, ParsePosition) methods may throw NullPointerException, if any of their parameter is null. The subclass may provide its own implementation and specification about NullPointerException.
The setCalendar(Calendar), setNumberFormat(NumberFormat) and setTimeZone(TimeZone) methods do not throw NullPointerException when their parameter is null, but any subsequent operations on the same instance may throw NullPointerException.
The getCalendar(), getNumberFormat() and getTimeZone() methods may return null, if the respective values of this instance is set to null through the corresponding setter methods. For Example: getTimeZone() may return null, if the TimeZone value of this instance is set as setTimeZone(null).

Since:

1.1

See Also:

Nested Class Summary

Nested Classes

Modifier and Type

Class

Description

static class

DateFormat.Field

Defines constants that are used as attribute keys in the AttributedCharacterIterator returned from DateFormat.formatToCharacterIterator and as field identifiers in FieldPosition.
Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type

Field

Description

static final int

AM_PM_FIELD

Useful constant for AM_PM field alignment.

protected Calendar

calendar

The Calendar instance used for calculating the date-time fields and the instant of time.

static final int

DATE_FIELD

Useful constant for DATE field alignment.

static final int

DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD

Useful constant for DAY_OF_WEEK field alignment.

static final int

DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD

Useful constant for DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH field alignment.

static final int

DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD

Useful constant for DAY_OF_YEAR field alignment.

static final int

DEFAULT

Constant for default style pattern.

static final int

ERA_FIELD

Useful constant for ERA field alignment.

static final int

FULL

Constant for full style pattern.

static final int

HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD

Useful constant for zero-based HOUR_OF_DAY field alignment.

static final int

HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD

Useful constant for one-based HOUR_OF_DAY field alignment.

static final int

HOUR0_FIELD

Useful constant for zero-based HOUR field alignment.

static final int

HOUR1_FIELD

Useful constant for one-based HOUR field alignment.

static final int

LONG

Constant for long style pattern.

static final int

MEDIUM

Constant for medium style pattern.

static final int

MILLISECOND_FIELD

Useful constant for MILLISECOND field alignment.

static final int

MINUTE_FIELD

Useful constant for MINUTE field alignment.

static final int

MONTH_FIELD

Useful constant for MONTH field alignment.

protected NumberFormat

numberFormat

The number formatter that DateFormat uses to format numbers in dates and times.

static final int

SECOND_FIELD

Useful constant for SECOND field alignment.

static final int

SHORT

Constant for short style pattern.

static final int

TIMEZONE_FIELD

Useful constant for TIMEZONE field alignment.

static final int

WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD

Useful constant for WEEK_OF_MONTH field alignment.

static final int

WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD

Useful constant for WEEK_OF_YEAR field alignment.

static final int

YEAR_FIELD

Useful constant for YEAR field alignment.
Constructor Summary

Constructors

Modifier

Constructor

Description

protected

DateFormat()

Create a new date format.
Method Summary

Modifier and Type

Method

Description

Object

clone()

Overrides Cloneable

boolean

equals(Object obj)

Compares the specified object with this DateFormat for equality.

final StringBuffer

format(Object obj, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)

Formats the given Object into a date-time string.

final String

format(Date date)

Formats a Date into a date-time string.

abstract StringBuffer

format(Date date, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)

Formats a Date into a date-time string.

static Locale[]

getAvailableLocales()

Returns an array of all locales for which the get*Instance methods of this class can return localized instances.

Calendar

getCalendar()

Gets the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.

static final DateFormat

getDateInstance()

Gets the date formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getDateInstance(int style)

Gets the date formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getDateInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)

Gets the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.

static final DateFormat

getDateTimeInstance()

Gets the date/time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle)

Gets the date/time formatter with the given date and time formatting styles for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale aLocale)

Gets the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.

static final DateFormat

getInstance()

Get a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.

NumberFormat

getNumberFormat()

Gets the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses to format and parse a time.

static final DateFormat

getTimeInstance()

Gets the time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getTimeInstance(int style)

Gets the time formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.

static final DateFormat

getTimeInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)

Gets the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.

TimeZone

getTimeZone()

Gets the time zone.

int

hashCode()

Returns the hash code for this DateFormat.

boolean

isLenient()

Tell whether date/time parsing is to be lenient.

Date

parse(String source)

Parses text from the beginning of the given string to produce a date.

abstract Date

parse(String source, ParsePosition pos)

Parse a date/time string according to the given parse position.

Object

parseObject(String source, ParsePosition pos)

Parses text from a string to produce a Date.

void

setCalendar(Calendar newCalendar)

Set the calendar to be used by this date format.

void

setLenient(boolean lenient)

Specify whether or not date/time parsing is to be lenient.

void

setNumberFormat(NumberFormat newNumberFormat)

Allows you to set the number formatter.

void

setTimeZone(TimeZone zone)

Sets the time zone for the calendar of this DateFormat object.

Methods declared in class Format
format, formatToCharacterIterator, parseObject

Methods declared in class Object
finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Details
- calendar
  
  protected Calendar calendar
  
  The Calendar instance used for calculating the date-time fields and the instant of time. This field is used for both formatting and parsing.
  Subclasses should initialize this field to a Calendar appropriate for the Locale associated with this DateFormat.
- numberFormat
  
  protected NumberFormat numberFormat
  
  The number formatter that DateFormat uses to format numbers in dates and times. Subclasses should initialize this to a number format appropriate for the locale associated with this DateFormat.
- ERA_FIELD
  public static final int ERA_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for ERA field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- YEAR_FIELD
  public static final int YEAR_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for YEAR field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- MONTH_FIELD
  public static final int MONTH_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for MONTH field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- DATE_FIELD
  public static final int DATE_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for DATE field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD
  public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for one-based HOUR_OF_DAY field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting. HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD is used for the one-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 24:59.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD
  public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for zero-based HOUR_OF_DAY field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting. HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 00:59.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- MINUTE_FIELD
  public static final int MINUTE_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for MINUTE field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- SECOND_FIELD
  public static final int SECOND_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for SECOND field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- MILLISECOND_FIELD
  public static final int MILLISECOND_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for MILLISECOND field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD
  public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for DAY_OF_WEEK field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD
  public static final int DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for DAY_OF_YEAR field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD
  public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD
  public static final int WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for WEEK_OF_YEAR field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD
  public static final int WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for WEEK_OF_MONTH field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- AM_PM_FIELD
  public static final int AM_PM_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for AM_PM field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- HOUR1_FIELD
  public static final int HOUR1_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for one-based HOUR field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting. HOUR1_FIELD is used for the one-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 12:30 AM.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- HOUR0_FIELD
  public static final int HOUR0_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for zero-based HOUR field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting. HOUR0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 00:30 AM.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- TIMEZONE_FIELD
  public static final int TIMEZONE_FIELD
  
  Useful constant for TIMEZONE field alignment. Used in FieldPosition of date/time formatting.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- FULL
  public static final int FULL
  
  Constant for full style pattern.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- LONG
  public static final int LONG
  
  Constant for long style pattern.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- MEDIUM
  public static final int MEDIUM
  
  Constant for medium style pattern.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- SHORT
  public static final int SHORT
  
  Constant for short style pattern.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
- DEFAULT
  public static final int DEFAULT
  
  Constant for default style pattern. Its value is MEDIUM.
  
  See Also:
  
  Constant Field Values
Constructor Details
- DateFormat
  
  protected DateFormat()
  
  Create a new date format.
Method Details
- format
  public final StringBuffer format(Object obj, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)
  
  Formats the given Object into a date-time string. The formatted string is appended to the given StringBuffer.
  
  Specified by:
  
  format in class Format
  
  Parameters:
  
  obj - Must be a Date or a Number representing a millisecond offset from the Epoch.
  
  toAppendTo - The string buffer for the returning date-time string.
  
  fieldPosition - keeps track on the position of the field within the returned string. For example, given a date-time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same date-time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that date-time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the date-time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
  
  Returns:
  
  the string buffer passed in as toAppendTo, with formatted text appended.
  
  Throws:
  
  IllegalArgumentException - if the Format cannot format the given obj.
  
  See Also:
  
  Format
- format
  
  public abstract StringBuffer format(Date date, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)
  
  Formats a Date into a date-time string. The formatted string is appended to the given StringBuffer.
  
  Parameters:
  
  date - a Date to be formatted into a date-time string.
  
  toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date-time string.
  
  fieldPosition - keeps track on the position of the field within the returned string. For example, given a date-time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same date-time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that date-time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the date-time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
  
  Returns:
  
  the string buffer passed in as toAppendTo, with formatted text appended.
- format
  
  public final String format(Date date)
  
  Formats a Date into a date-time string.
  
  Parameters:
  
  date - the time value to be formatted into a date-time string.
  
  Returns:
  
  the formatted date-time string.
- parse
  
  public Date parse(String source) throws ParseException
  
  Parses text from the beginning of the given string to produce a date. The method may not use the entire text of the given string.
  See the parse(String, ParsePosition) method for more information on date parsing.
  
  Parameters:
  
  source - A String whose beginning should be parsed.
  
  Returns:
  
  A Date parsed from the string.
  
  Throws:
  
  ParseException - if the beginning of the specified string cannot be parsed.
- parse
  
  public abstract Date parse(String source, ParsePosition pos)
  
  Parse a date/time string according to the given parse position. For example, if this has the pattern "M/d/yy h:m a, z", then a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Date that is equivalent to Date(837039900000L).
  By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).
  This parsing operation uses the calendar to produce a Date. As a result, the calendar's date-time fields and the TimeZone value may have been overwritten, depending on subclass implementations. Any TimeZone value that has previously been set by a call to setTimeZone may need to be restored for further operations.
  
  Parameters:
  
  source - The date/time string to be parsed
  
  pos - On input, the position at which to start parsing; on output, the position at which parsing terminated, or the start position if the parse failed.
  
  Returns:
  
  A Date, or null if the input could not be parsed
- parseObject
  
  public Object parseObject(String source, ParsePosition pos)
  
  Parses text from a string to produce a Date.
  The method attempts to parse text starting at the index given by pos. If parsing succeeds, then the index of pos is updated to the index after the last character used (parsing does not necessarily use all characters up to the end of the string), and the parsed date is returned. The updated pos can be used to indicate the starting point for the next call to this method. If an error occurs, then the index of pos is not changed, the error index of pos is set to the index of the character where the error occurred, and null is returned.
  See the parse(String, ParsePosition) method for more information on date parsing.
  
  Specified by:
  
  parseObject in class Format
  
  Parameters:
  
  source - A String, part of which should be parsed.
  
  pos - A ParsePosition object with index and error index information as described above.
  
  Returns:
  
  A Date parsed from the string. In case of error, returns null.
  
  Throws:
  
  NullPointerException - if source or pos is null.
- getTimeInstance
  public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance()
  
  Gets the time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getTimeInstance(DEFAULT, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Returns:
  
  a time formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getTimeInstance
  public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style)
  
  Gets the time formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getTimeInstance(style, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Parameters:
  
  style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a time formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getTimeInstance
  
  public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)
  
  Gets the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
  
  Parameters:
  
  style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale.
  
  aLocale - the given locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a time formatter.
- getDateInstance
  public static final DateFormat getDateInstance()
  
  Gets the date formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getDateInstance(DEFAULT, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Returns:
  
  a date formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getDateInstance
  public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style)
  
  Gets the date formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getDateInstance(style, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Parameters:
  
  style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a date formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getDateInstance
  
  public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)
  
  Gets the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
  
  Parameters:
  
  style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale.
  
  aLocale - the given locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a date formatter.
- getDateTimeInstance
  public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance()
  
  Gets the date/time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getDateTimeInstance(DEFAULT, DEFAULT, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Returns:
  
  a date/time formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getDateTimeInstance
  public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle)
  
  Gets the date/time formatter with the given date and time formatting styles for the default FORMAT locale.
  This is equivalent to calling getDateTimeInstance(dateStyle, timeStyle, Locale.getDefault(Locale.Category.FORMAT)).
  
  Parameters:
  
  dateStyle - the given date formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale.
  
  timeStyle - the given time formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a date/time formatter.
  
  See Also:
  
  Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category)
  
  Locale.Category.FORMAT
- getDateTimeInstance
  
  public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale aLocale)
  
  Gets the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
  
  Parameters:
  
  dateStyle - the given date formatting style.
  
  timeStyle - the given time formatting style.
  
  aLocale - the given locale.
  
  Returns:
  
  a date/time formatter.
- getInstance
  
  public static final DateFormat getInstance()
  
  Get a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
  
  Returns:
  
  a date/time formatter
- getAvailableLocales
  
  public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()
  
  Returns an array of all locales for which the get*Instance methods of this class can return localized instances. The returned array represents the union of locales supported by the Java runtime and by installed DateFormatProvider implementations. At a minimum, the returned array must contain a Locale instance equal to Locale.ROOT and a Locale instance equal to Locale.US.
  
  Returns:
  
  An array of locales for which localized DateFormat instances are available.
- setCalendar
  
  public void setCalendar(Calendar newCalendar)
  
  Set the calendar to be used by this date format. Initially, the default calendar for the specified or default locale is used.
  Any TimeZone and leniency values that have previously been set are overwritten by newCalendar's values.
  
  Parameters:
  
  newCalendar - the new Calendar to be used by the date format
- getCalendar
  
  public Calendar getCalendar()
  
  Gets the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
  
  Returns:
  
  the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
- setNumberFormat
  
  public void setNumberFormat(NumberFormat newNumberFormat)
  
  Allows you to set the number formatter.
  
  Parameters:
  
  newNumberFormat - the given new NumberFormat.
- getNumberFormat
  
  public NumberFormat getNumberFormat()
  
  Gets the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses to format and parse a time.
  
  Returns:
  
  the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses.
- setTimeZone
  public void setTimeZone(TimeZone zone)
  
  Sets the time zone for the calendar of this DateFormat object. This method is equivalent to the following call.
  
  getCalendar().setTimeZone(zone);
  
  The TimeZone set by this method is overwritten by a setCalendar call.
  The TimeZone set by this method may be overwritten as a result of a call to the parse method.
  
  Parameters:
  
  zone - the given new time zone.
- getTimeZone
  public TimeZone getTimeZone()
  
  Gets the time zone. This method is equivalent to the following call.
  
  getCalendar().getTimeZone();
  
  Returns:
  
  the time zone associated with the calendar of DateFormat.
- setLenient
  public void setLenient(boolean lenient)
  
  Specify whether or not date/time parsing is to be lenient. With lenient parsing, the parser may use heuristics to interpret inputs that do not precisely match this object's format. With strict parsing, inputs must match this object's format.
  This method is equivalent to the following call.
  
  getCalendar().setLenient(lenient);
  
  This leniency value is overwritten by a call to setCalendar().
  
  Implementation Requirements:
  
  A SPACE_SEPARATOR in the input text will match any other SPACE_SEPARATORs in the pattern with lenient parsing; otherwise, it will not match.
  
  Parameters:
  
  lenient - when true, parsing is lenient
  
  See Also:
  
  Calendar.setLenient(boolean)
- isLenient
  public boolean isLenient()
  
  Tell whether date/time parsing is to be lenient. This method is equivalent to the following call.
  
  getCalendar().isLenient();
  
  Returns:
  
  true if the calendar is lenient; false otherwise.
  
  See Also:
  
  Calendar.isLenient()
- hashCode
  public int hashCode()
  
  Returns the hash code for this DateFormat.
  
  Overrides:
  
  hashCode in class Object
  
  Implementation Requirements:
  
  This method calculates the hash code value using the value returned by getNumberFormat().
  
  Returns:
  
  the hash code for this DateFormat
  
  See Also:
  
  Object.hashCode()
- equals
  public boolean equals(Object obj)
  
  Compares the specified object with this DateFormat for equality. Returns true if the object is also a DateFormat and the two formats would format any value the same.
  
  Overrides:
  
  equals in class Object
  
  Implementation Requirements:
  
  This method performs an equality check with a notion of class identity based on getClass(), rather than instanceof. Therefore, in the equals methods in subclasses, no instance of this class should compare as equal to an instance of a subclass.
  
  Parameters:
  
  obj - object to be compared for equality
  
  Returns:
  
  true if the specified object is equal to this DateFormat
  
  See Also:
  
  Object.equals(Object)
- clone
  public Object clone()
  
  Overrides Cloneable
  
  Overrides:
  
  clone in class Format
  
  Returns:
  
  a clone of this instance.
  
  See Also:
  
  Cloneable

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Class DateFormat

Synchronization

Nested Class Summary

Field Summary

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods declared in class Format

Methods declared in class Object

Field Details

calendar

numberFormat

ERA_FIELD

YEAR_FIELD

MONTH_FIELD

DATE_FIELD

HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD

HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD

MINUTE_FIELD

SECOND_FIELD

MILLISECOND_FIELD

DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD

DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD

DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD

WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD

WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD

AM_PM_FIELD

HOUR1_FIELD

HOUR0_FIELD

TIMEZONE_FIELD

FULL

LONG

MEDIUM

SHORT

DEFAULT

Constructor Details

DateFormat

Method Details

format

format

format

parse

parse

parseObject

getTimeInstance

getTimeInstance

getTimeInstance

getDateInstance

getDateInstance

getDateInstance

getDateTimeInstance

getDateTimeInstance

getDateTimeInstance

getInstance

getAvailableLocales

setCalendar

getCalendar

setNumberFormat

getNumberFormat

setTimeZone

getTimeZone

setLenient

isLenient

hashCode

equals

clone