Java Date class is one of the Java's oldest class, and most of the methods in the class are deprecated, but we can still use it to represent a date though.
Date and time contained in a java.util.Date instance, and accessible by using predefined methods.
Instantiate a java.util.Date instance:
Example:
java.util.Date date = new java.util.Date();
or
public class DisplayDate {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// Instantiate an object
Date date = new Date();
}
}
Current timestamp
Date time timestamp in milliseconds is accessible by using Date object with getTime() method.
Example:
import java.util.Date;
public class DisplayDate {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// Instantiate an object
Date date = new Date();
// display current timestamp
System.out.println(date.getTime());
}
}
Program Output:
1444194469602
Current Date & Time
Date time timestamp in milliseconds is accessible by using Date object with toString() method.
Example:
import java.util.Date;
public class DisplayDate {
public static void main(String args[]) {
// Instantiate an object
Date date = new Date();
// display time and date
System.out.println(date.toString());
}
}
Program Output:
Wed Oct 07 05:16:16 UTC 2015
Comparing Dates
Compare between two dates in Java
Date Formatting
SimpleDateFormat() method is used for formatting and parsing dates in a locale-sensitive manner. It's returning date-time formatting by the user-defined pattern.
Example:
import java.util.Date;
import java.text.*;
public class DisplayDate {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Date date = new Date( );
SimpleDateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat ("E yyyy.MM.dd 'at' hh:mm:ss a zzz");
System.out.println("Current Date: " + dateFormat.format(date));
}
}
Program Output:
Current Date: Wed 2015.10.07 at 05:48:19 AM UTC