Parse A Java Date

Question

How can I parse the following date in Java from its string representation to a java.util.Date?

2011-07-12T16:45:56

I tried the following:

private Date getDateTime(String aDateString) {
    Date result = new java.util.Date();
    SimpleDateFormat sf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy/MM/dd hh:mm:ss");
    try
    {
        result = sf.parse(aDateString);
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        Log.e(this.getClass().getName(), "Unable to parse date: " + aDateString);
    }
    return result;
}

possible duplicate of [parse this type of date format in java?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4013681/parse-this-type-of-date-format-in-java) — Matt Ball, Sep 07 '11 at 20:03

Matt Ball · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-08T01:15:21.430

5

You are not using the right date format pattern. The year/month/day separators are clearly wrong, and you need a literal 'T'. Try this:

SimpleDateFormat sf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss");

For the record, this is an ISO 8601 combined date and time format.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 01:15

answered Sep 07 '11 at 19:59

Matt Ball

354,903
100
647
710

you have one small error on the pattern - It should be `HH` instead of `hh` since his example date time is in military time. Not nit-picking just pointing it out. :) – CoolBeans Sep 08 '11 at 00:35
Many thanks for the correction - fixed. That's [not the first time I've made this mistake](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1313280/inconsistent-date-parsing-using-simpledateformat), either... – Matt Ball Sep 08 '11 at 01:15
Haha - that's quite a coincidence :) – CoolBeans Sep 08 '11 at 02:35

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 07 '11 at 19:57

3

Your date format pattern is incorrect. It should be yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss .

To parse a date like "2011-07-12T16:45:56" you need to use:-

SimpleDateFormat sf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss");

answered Sep 07 '11 at 19:57

CoolBeans

20,654
10
86
101

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 07 '11 at 20:02

2

Check the pattern you are feeding your SimpleDateFormat against the string you are feeding in.

See any potential discrepancies? I see 3.

answered Sep 07 '11 at 20:02

Alexx

3,572
6
32
39

Parse A Java Date

3 Answers3

Linked