SimpleDateFormat throws exception

Question

I want to show a date string in this format: Jun 27, 2012. I did this:

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("MMM dd, yyy");
String date = sdf.format(Calendar.getInstance());

But it gives me this:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Cannot format given Object as a Date

What am I doing wrong?

Which exception is it throwing and what does its message say? — Peter Lawrey, Jun 27 '12 at 14:56

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 27 '12 at 15:04

10

sdf.format()

Takes a Date, not a Calendar object.

edited Jun 27 '12 at 15:04

Leigh

answered Jun 27 '12 at 14:56

evanwong

2

+1 Which is why it gives `IllegalArgumentException: Cannot format given Object as a Date` – Peter Lawrey Jun 27 '12 at 14:58
Anyway, the output is "jun 27, 2012" instead of "Jun 27, 2012". Is there a way to capitalize the first letter by means of the date formatter? – Charlie-Blake Jun 27 '12 at 14:58
2

@santirivera92: What locale are you using, and what do you *want* to use? For example, what would you expect for April? (My guess is that at the moment you'll get "avr" for "Avril".) – Jon Skeet Jun 27 '12 at 15:01
I have not declared any locale, but in my locale I'd get "abr" for "Abril", I'm from Spain – Charlie-Blake Jun 27 '12 at 15:43

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 27 '12 at 14:57

You can not use Calendar.getInstance(), since the param for same is date and not calender instance. Just change the param to getTime()

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("MMM dd, yyyy");
String date = sdf.format(Calendar.getInstance().getTime());

2 Answers2