Identifying the season from the Date using Java

Question

I've had nothing but good luck from SO, so why not try again?

I have an application that needs to show a different image based on the season of the year (spring, summer, winter, fall). I have very specific start and end dates for these seasons.

What I would like from you geniuses is a method called GetSeason that takes a date as input and returns a String value of Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall. Here are the date ranges and their associated seasons:

Spring:3/1-4/30
Summer:5/1-8/31
Fall:9/1-10/31
Winter: 11/1-2/28

Can someone provide a working method to return the proper season? Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

Seems like just checking the month would do:

private static final String seasons[] = {
  "Winter", "Winter", "Spring", "Spring", "Summer", "Summer", 
  "Summer", "Summer", "Fall", "Fall", "Winter", "Winter"
};
public String getSeason( Date date ) {
   return seasons[ date.getMonth() ];
}

// As stated above, getMonth() is deprecated, but if you start with a Date, 
// you'd have to convert to Calendar before continuing with new Java, 
// and that's not fast.

Answer 2

Some good answers here, but they are outdated. The java.time classes make this work much easier.

java.time

The troublesome old classes bundled with the earliest versions of Java have been supplanted by the java.time classes built into Java 8 and later. See Oracle Tutorial. Much of the functionality has been back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport and further adapted to Android in ThreeTenABP.

Month

Given that seasons are defined here using whole months, we can make use of the handy Month enum. Such enum values are better than mere integer values (1-12) because they are type-safe and you are guaranteed of valid values.

EnumSet

An EnumSet is a fast-performing and compact-memory way to track a subset of enum values.

EnumSet<Month> spring = EnumSet.of( Month.MARCH , Month.APRIL );
EnumSet<Month> summer = EnumSet.of( Month.MAY , Month.JUNE , Month.JULY , Month.AUGUST );
EnumSet<Month> fall = EnumSet.of( Month.SEPTEMBER , Month.OCTOBER );
EnumSet<Month> winter = EnumSet.of( Month.NOVEMBER , Month.DECEMBER , Month.JANUARY , Month.FEBRUARY );

As an example, we get the current moment for a particular time zone.

ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.of( "America/Montreal" );
ZonedDateTime zdt = ZonedDateTime.now( zoneId );

Ask that date-time value for its Month.

Month month = Month.from( zdt );

Look for which season EnumSet has that particular Month value by calling contains.

if ( spring.contains( month ) ) {
    …
} else if ( summer.contains( month ) ) {
    …
} else if ( fall.contains( month ) ) {
    …
} else if ( winter.contains( month ) ) {
    …
} else {
    // FIXME: Handle reaching impossible point as error condition.
}

Define your own “Season” enum

If you are using this season idea around your code base, I suggest defining your own enum, “Season”.

The basic enum is simple: public enum Season { SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER; }. But we also add a static method of to do that lookup of which month maps to which season.

package work.basil.example;

import java.time.Month;

public enum Season {
    SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER;

    static public Season of ( final Month month ) {
        switch ( month ) {

            // Spring.
            case MARCH:  // Java quirk: An enum switch case label must be the unqualified name of an enum. So cannot use `Month.MARCH` here, only `MARCH`.
                return Season.SPRING;

            case APRIL:
                return Season.SPRING;

            // Summer.
            case MAY:
                return Season.SUMMER;

            case JUNE:
                return Season.SUMMER;

            case JULY:
                return Season.SUMMER;

            case AUGUST:
                return Season.SUMMER;

            // Fall.
            case SEPTEMBER:
                return Season.FALL;

            case OCTOBER:
                return Season.FALL;

            // Winter.
            case NOVEMBER:
                return Season.WINTER;

            case DECEMBER:
                return Season.WINTER;

            case JANUARY:
                return Season.WINTER;

            case FEBRUARY:
                return Season.WINTER;

            default:
                System.out.println ( "ERROR." );  // FIXME: Handle reaching impossible point as error condition.
                return null;
        }
    }

}

Or use the switch expressions feature (JEP 361) of Java 14.

package work.basil.example;

import java.time.Month;
import java.util.Objects;

public enum Season
{
    SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER;

    static public Season of ( final Month month )
    {
        Objects.requireNonNull( month , "ERROR - Received null where a `Month` is expected. Message # 0ac03df9-1c5a-4c2d-a22d-14c40e25c58b." );
        return
                switch ( Objects.requireNonNull( month ) )
                        {
                            // Spring.
                            case MARCH , APRIL -> Season.SPRING;

                            // Summer.
                            case MAY , JUNE , JULY , AUGUST -> Season.SUMMER;

                            // Fall.
                            case SEPTEMBER , OCTOBER -> Season.FALL;

                            // Winter.
                            case NOVEMBER , DECEMBER , JANUARY , FEBRUARY -> Season.WINTER;
                        }
                ;
    }
}

Here is how to use that enum.

ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.of ( "America/Montreal" );
ZonedDateTime zdt = ZonedDateTime.now ( zoneId );
Month month = Month.from ( zdt );
Season season = Season.of ( month );

Dump to console.

System.out.println ( "zdt: " + zdt + " |  month: " + month + " | season: " + season );

zdt: 2016-06-25T18:23:14.695-04:00[America/Montreal] | month: JUNE | season: SUMMER

Answer 3

Well, it could be as simple as

String getSeason(int month) {
    switch(month) {
          case 11:
          case 12:
          case 1:
          case 2:
                return "winter";
          case 3:
          case 4:
                return "spring";
          case 5:
          case 6:
          case 7:
          case 8:
                return "summer";
          default:
                return "autumn";
      }
}

I have been chided in the comments into a better solution: enums:

public static Enum Season {
    WINTER(Arrays.asList(11,12,1,2)),
    SPRING(Arrays.asList(3,4)),
    SUMMER(Arrays.asList(5,6,7,8)),
    AUTUMN(Arrays.asList(9,10));

    Season(List<Integer> months) {
        this.monthlist = months;
    }
    private List<Integer> monthlist;
    public boolean inSeason(int month) {
        return this.monthlist.contains(month);  // if months are 0 based, then insert +1 before the )
    }

    public static Season seasonForMonth(int month) {
        for(Season s: Season.values()) {
            if (s.inSeason(month))
                 return s;
        }
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown month");
    }
}

Answer 4

i feel patronized, but flattered. so i'll do it.

This checks not only the month, but day of month.

import java.util.*

public String getSeason(Date today, int year){

    // the months are one less because GC is 0-based for the months, but not days.
    // i.e. 0 = January.
    String returnMe = "";

    GregorianCalender dateToday = new GregorianCalender(year, today.get(Calender.MONTH_OF_YEAR), today.get(Calender.DAY_OF_MONTH);
    GregorianCalender springstart = new GregorianCalender(year, 2, 1);
    GregorianCalender springend = new GregorianCalender(year, 3, 30);
    GregorianCalender summerstart = new GregorianCalender(year, 4, 1);
    GregorianCalender summerend = new GregorianCalender(year, 7, 31);
    GregorianCalender fallstart = new GregorianCalender(year, 8, 1);
    GregorianCalender fallend = new GregorianCalender(year, 9, 31);
    GregorianCalender winterstart = new GregorianCalender(year, 10, 1);
    GregorianCalender winterend = new GregorianCalender(year, 1, 28);

    if ((dateToday.after(springstart) && dateToday.before(springend)) || dateToday.equals(springstart) || dateToday.equals(springend)){
        returnMe = "Spring";

    else if ((dateToday.after(summerstart) && dateToday.before(summerend)) || dateToday.equals(summerstart) || dateToday.equals(summerend)){
        returnMe = "Summer";

    else if ((dateToday.after(fallstart) && dateToday.before(fallend)) || dateToday.equals(fallstart) || dateToday.equals(fallend)){
        returnMe = "Fall";

    else if ((dateToday.after(winterstart) && dateToday.before(winterend)) || dateToday.equals(winterstart) || dateToday.equals(winterend)){
        returnMe = "Winter";

    else {
        returnMe = "Invalid";
    }
    return returnMe;
}

I'm sure this is hideous, and can be improved. let me know in the comments.

Answer 5

public class lab6project1 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);

        System.out.println("This program reports the season for a given day and month");
        System.out.println("Please enter the month and day as integers with a space between the month and day");

        int month = keyboard.nextInt();
        int day = keyboard.nextInt();


        if ((month == 1) || (month == 2)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Winter");
        } else if ((month == 4) || (month == 5)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Spring");
        } else if ((month == 7) || (month == 8)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Summer");
        } else if ((month == 10) || (month == 11)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Fall");
        } else if ((month == 3) && (day <= 19)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Winter");
        } else if (month == 3) {
            System.out.println("The season is Spring");
        } else if ((month == 6) && (day <= 20)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Spring");
        } else if (month == 6) {
            System.out.println("The season is Summer");
        } else if ((month == 9) && (day <= 20)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Summer");
        } else if (month == 9) {
            System.out.println("The season is Autumn");
        } else if ((month == 12) && (day <= 21)) {
            System.out.println("The season is Autumn");
        } else if (month == 12) {
            System.out.println("The season is Winter");
        }
    }
}

Answer 6

since in this range all seasons are full months, you can do a switch with the month from your date:

switch (date.getMonth()) {
    case Calendar.JANUARY:
    case Calendar.FEBRUARY:
         return "winter";
    case Calendar.MARCH:
         return "spring";
    //etc
}

I recommend completing the entire switch using all 12 Calendar constants, instead of default for the last ones. You can then make sure your input was correct, for example with

default:
 throw new IllegalArgumentException();

at the end.

You might also want to use an Enum for the season, instead of a simple string, depending on your use cases.

Note the Date.getMonth() method is deprecated, you should use java.util.Calendar.get(Calendar.MONTH) instead. (just convert the Date to a Calendar using calendar.setDate(yourDate))

Answer 7

Try using hash tables or enums. You could convert the date into some value (jan 1 being 1,...) and then create bins for a certain field. or you could do an enum with the month. {january: winter, february: winter, ...july:summer, etc}

Answer 8

Simple solution

 Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
 calendar.setTimeInMillis(timeInMills);
 int month = calendar.get(Calendar.MONTH);
 CurrentSeason = month == 11 ? 0 : (month + 1) / 3;

Answer 9

The title of your question is very general so most users will first think of astronomical seasons. Even though the detailed content of your question is limited to customized date ranges, this limitation might just be caused by the inability to calculate the astronomical case so I dare to post an answer to this old question also for the astronomical scenario.

And most answers here are only based on full months. I give here two examples to address both astronomical seasons and seasons based on arbitrary date ranges.

a) mapping of arbitrary date ranges to seasons

Here we definitely need an extra information, the concrete time zone or offset otherwise we cannot translate an instant (like the oldfashioned java.util.Date-instance of your input) to a local representation using the combination of month and day. For simplicity I assume the system time zone.

    // your input
    java.util.Date d = new java.util.Date();
    ZoneId tz = ZoneId.systemDefault();

    // extract the relevant month-day
    ZonedDateTime zdt = d.toInstant().atZone(tz);
    MonthDay md = MonthDay.of(zdt.getMonth(), zdt.getDayOfMonth());

    // a definition with day-of-month other than first is possible here
    MonthDay beginOfSpring = MonthDay.of(3, 1);
    MonthDay beginOfSummer = MonthDay.of(5, 1);
    MonthDay beginOfAutumn = MonthDay.of(9, 1);
    MonthDay beginOfWinter = MonthDay.of(11, 1);

    // determine the season
    Season result;

    if (md.isBefore(beginOfSpring)) {
        result = Season.WINTER;
    } else if (md.isBefore(beginOfSummer)) {
        result = Season.SPRING;
    } else if (md.isBefore(beginOfAutumn)) {
        result = Season.SUMMER;
    } else if (md.isBefore(beginOfWinter)) {
        result = Season.FALL;
    } else {
        result = Season.WINTER;
    }

    System.out.println(result);

I have used a simple helper enum like public enum Season { SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER; }.

b) astronomical seasons

Here we also need one extra information, namely if the season is on the northern or on the southern hemisphere. My library Time4J offers following solution based on the predefined enum AstronomicalSeason using the version v5.2:

    // your input
    java.util.Date d = new java.util.Date();
    boolean isSouthern = false;

    Moment m = TemporalType.JAVA_UTIL_DATE.translate(d);
    AstronomicalSeason result = AstronomicalSeason.of(m);

    if (isSouthern) { // switch to southern equivalent if necessary
        result = result.onSouthernHemisphere();
    }

    System.out.println(result);

Answer 10

In case just a season number for northern hemisphere is needed:

/**
 * @return 1 - winter, 2 - spring, 3 - summer, 4 - autumn
 */
private static int getDateSeason(LocalDate date) {
    return date.plus(1, MONTHS).get(IsoFields.QUARTER_OF_YEAR);
}

Via How do I discover the Quarter of a given Date?.

---

And here is how to calculate season bounds for a given date:

private static LocalDate atStartOfSeason(LocalDate date) {
    return date.plus(1, MONTHS).with(IsoFields.DAY_OF_QUARTER, 1).minus(1, MONTHS);
}

private static LocalDate afterEndOfSeason(LocalDate date) {
    return atStartOfSeason(date).plus(3, MONTHS);
}

Via How to get the first date and last date of current quarter in java.util.Date.

Answer 11

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Season {

public static void main (String[] args) {

    Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);

    System.out.println("Enter the month:");

        int mon=sc.nextInt();

        if(mon>12||mon<1)
        {
            System.out.println("Invalid month");
        }

        else if(mon>=3&&mon<=5)
        {
            System.out.println("Season:Spring");
        }

        else if(mon>=6&&mon<=8)
        {
            System.out.println("Season:Summer");
        }

        else if(mon>=9&&mon<=11)
        {
            System.out.println("Season:Autumn");
        }

        else if(mon==12||mon==1||mon==2)
        {
            System.out.println("Season:Winter");
        }
}
}