How to convert this date format: /Date(1268524800000)/?

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How to format a JSON date?

I am calling a JSON web service via Javascript, and the StartDate field is /Date(1268524800000)/. How do I convert this to a human readable format?d

What format is it in? Is it a time stamp? If the web service has documentation, it should be in there — Pekka, Nov 24 '11 at 18:15
Same as this [question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/206384/how-to-format-a-json-date) — Nathan, Nov 24 '11 at 18:16
Well, this format is arguably not immediately recognizable. I think this many downvotes are a little harsh. (But +1 @Nathan for finding a great dupe) — Pekka, Nov 24 '11 at 18:16
It appears to be milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC; the date represented is Sun 2010-03-14 00:00:00 UTC. (This doesn't answer the question of how to convert it, but it provides a clue of how to do it if you're using some language other than JavaScript.) Of course, one way to convert it to human-readable format is to train yourself to read that format. 8-)} — Keith Thompson, Nov 24 '11 at 18:44

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 24 '11 at 18:18

11

Try this:

var str = "/Date(1268524800000)/";
var num = parseInt(str.replace(/[^0-9]/g, ""));
var date = new Date(num);
alert(date);

Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/dS2hd/

answered Nov 24 '11 at 18:18

Niels

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What if the number is negative? – gilly3 Nov 24 '11 at 18:26
it shouldn't be because it really does represent a date from the system – TruMan1 Nov 24 '11 at 18:29
@TruMan1 - Any date before 1969 has a negative serial number in JavaScript. – gilly3 Nov 24 '11 at 18:36
didn't know about that backreference before @gilly3: `/(\-?\d+)/.test(str) ? new Date(+RegExp.$1) : null;` – draeton Nov 25 '11 at 07:46
1

The answer given here is faster, since it doesn't require regex parsing: http://stackoverflow.com/a/2316066/163227 – Roy Tinker Jan 18 '17 at 19:22

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 24 '11 at 18:18

You can use a regex to get the milliseconds, then use the Date constructor to get a Date object. Once you have your date object, you can do whatever you want with it.

var ms = parseInt("/Date(1268524800000)/".match(/\((\d+)\)/)[1]);
var d = new Date(ms);
alert(d.toString());

gilly3 · Answer 3 · 2011-11-24T18:30:35.517

0

You can either eval() it, or you can extract the number and pass it to a Date constructor.

if (/^\/Date\((-?\d+)\)\/$/.test(val)) {
    var serial = parseInt(RegExp.$1);
    val = new Date(serial);
}

I've seen dates expressed as /Date(1234567890000-0500)/, so a more robust procedure may be called for to handle the UTC offset.

edited Nov 24 '11 at 18:30

answered Nov 24 '11 at 18:24

gilly3

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How to convert this date format: /Date(1268524800000)/?

3 Answers3