How to get default date pattern in java?

Question

public class DefaultDateFormatPattern {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println(new Date());
    }
}

The output is: Thu Jan 08 10:52:56 IST 2015

Is there any method in Java to get the pattern of the date it is showing ?

By "pattern", do you mean a pattern string that can be used with `java.text.SimpleDateFormat`? — ez121sl, Jan 08 '15 at 05:34
If you mean the current default platform date, then you should use `Locales` and `getDefault()` — Sharp Edge, Jan 08 '15 at 05:38
I recommend you don’t use `Date` and `SimpleDateFormat`. Those classes are poorly designed and long outdated. Instead use `Instant` from [java.time, the modern Java date and time API](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/datetime/) for a moment in time. The format produced by its `toString` method is in `DateTimeFormatter.ISO_INSTANT`. — Ole V.V., May 22 '19 at 12:31

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited May 22 '19 at 09:59

7

According to Java 8 toString() method of Date class the format is: EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss zzz yyyy.

edited May 22 '19 at 09:59

vezunchik

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answered May 22 '19 at 09:37

muaz

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Correct (not that we should bother since in 2019 we should no longer use the `Date` class). – Ole V.V. May 22 '19 at 19:17

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:20

4

You can try SimpleDateFormat.toLocalizedPattern() or SimpleDateFormat.toPattern() to get the pattern.

SimpleDateFormat format=new SimpleDateFormat();
System.out.println(format.toLocalizedPattern());
System.out.println(format.toPattern());

Pass locale to get the locale specific pattern.

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edited May 23 '17 at 12:20

Community

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answered Jan 08 '15 at 05:35

Braj

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The SimpleDateFormat constructor needs the pattern with locale. But I want to know pattern from the date it is printing for my locale. – Alin Jan 08 '15 at 05:46
Look at `Date.toString()` method in source code and look what it does. – Braj Jan 08 '15 at 05:49

Sharp Edge · Answer 3 · 2015-01-08T05:41:58.240

0

 Calendar rightNow = Calendar.getInstance();

 DateFormat d = new SimpleDateFormat("DDD", Locale.getDefault());

 String day = d.format(rightNow.getTime());

You can use the overloaded constructor of SimpleDateFormat to get the current default use Locale.getDefault() in the 2nd argument.. Check the SimpleDateFormat Api Docs

edited Jan 08 '15 at 05:41

answered Jan 08 '15 at 05:33

Sharp Edge

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 08 '15 at 05:47

You can use SimpleDateFormat to get whatever the date format you want. The default format of SimpleDateFormat is

d/M/yy h:mm a

you can set the way you want.

Eg.

SimpleDateFormat format=new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
System.out.println(format.format(new Date()));

How to get default date pattern in java?

4 Answers4