Localtion of pattern for date formats in java

Question

In java you can get the date format based for a specific locale by doing:

Locale locale = new Locale("en", "UK");
DateFormat format = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.MEDIUM, locale);
System.out.println( ((SimpleDateFormat)format).toPattern());

This prints

dd-MMM-yyyy

Is this pattern hardcoded in a properties file somewhere? Is there any way I can extend the java mechanism and apply my own pattern (locale dependent) so when I run the above code I get:

dd-MM-yyyy

If you want a specific pattern, why don't you just specify that explicitly? Or are you trying to work with code which always asks for the medium pattern? — Jon Skeet, Apr 21 '13 at 19:42

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 22 '13 at 09:11

The idea is to work always with the same format, in my case the DateFormat.SHORT.

I end up using the short format and replacing the default format containing 2 character for the year with 4 characters for the year.

And in case someone want to know, the formats are indeed hardcoded in the package sun.text.resources under the classes FormatData_XX_YY (e.g. FormatData_en_UK).

Localtion of pattern for date formats in java

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