Convert String datetime to Date not working Java Android

Question

I don't know why I can't convert a String to a Date in Java Android. I got error when I try

The error :

W/System.err: java.text.ParseException: Unparseable date: "Fri Apr 30 00:12:13 GMT+02:00 2021"

My code :

String datestr = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(UPDATED_AT)); // Fri Apr 30 00:12:13 GMT+02:00 2021
DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss zzz yyyy", Locale.GERMANY);
myDate = dateFormat.parse(datestr);

---

Edit:

I'm up to date now (I think):

I convert all my Date to

OffsetDateTime currentDate = OffsetDateTime.now()

That gives me :

2021-04-30T02:14:49.067+02:00

Then If this date is a String and I want to convert it to OffsetDateTime :

String datestr = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(UPDATED_AT)); // 2021-04-30T02:14:49.067+02:00
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSXXX").withLocale( Locale.US );
OffsetDateTime myDate = OffsetDateTime.parse( datestr , f );

Answer 1

tl;dr

OffsetDateTime
.parse( 
    "Fri Apr 30 00:12:13 GMT+02:00 2021" , 
    DateTimeFormatter
    .ofPattern( "EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss OOOO uuuu" )
    .withLocale( Locale.US ) 
)
.toString()

2021-04-30T00:12:13+02:00

Avoid legacy date-time classes

You are using terrible date-time classes that were supplanted years ago by the modern java.time classes defined in JSR 310.

DateTimeFormatter

Define a formatting pattern to match your input text. Use DateTimeFormatter class.

Note the Locale, to determine the human language and cultural norms to use in translating the name of day & month, capitalization, abbreviation, and so on.

String input = "Fri Apr 30 00:12:13 GMT+02:00 2021";
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss OOOO uuuu" ).withLocale( Locale.US );

OffsetDateTime

Your input represents a moment, a point on the timeline, as seen in the wall-clock time of an offset-from-UTC but not a time zone. Therefore, parse as a OffsetDateTime object.

OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse( input , f );

odt.toString() = 2021-04-30T00:12:13+02:00

---

About java.time

The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.

To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.

The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.

You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes. Hibernate 5 & JPA 2.2 support java.time.

Where to obtain the java.time classes?

• Java SE 8, Java SE 9, Java SE 10, Java SE 11, and later - Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
  • Java 9 brought some minor features and fixes.
• Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
  • Most of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
• Android
  • Later versions of Android (26+) bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
  • For earlier Android (<26), the process of API desugaring brings a subset of the java.time functionality not originally built into Android.
    • If the desugaring does not offer what you need, the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above) to Android. See How to use ThreeTenABP….