How Can I Parse Strings into Dates with Different Formats Using Java?

String Parsing to Dates in Assorted Formats Using Java

Parsing strings into dates is a common task in programming. However, strings representing dates can come in various formats, potentially introducing complexities in conversion. This article tackles the challenge of converting strings to dates with different formats using Java.

Problem:

You have a string like "19/05/2009" in "dd/MM/yyyy" format and want to convert it to a Date object in "yyyy-MM-dd" format.

Solution:

SimpleDateFormat is a Java class that can format and parse dates based on specific patterns. Here's how you can use it to achieve the desired conversion:

import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;

class StringToDateConversion {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws ParseException {
        // Define the input string in "dd/MM/yyyy" format
        String fromDate = "19/05/2009";

        // Create SimpleDateFormat objects for both input and output formats
        SimpleDateFormat fromUser = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
        SimpleDateFormat myFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");

        // Parse the input string into a Date object
        Date parsedDate = fromUser.parse(fromDate);

        // Reformat the Date object into the desired "yyyy-MM-dd" format
        String reformattedStr = myFormat.format(parsedDate);

        // Print the reformatted string
        System.out.println(reformattedStr);
    }
}

This code demonstrates the conversion process:

1. Initialize two SimpleDateFormat objects, fromUser for reading the user's input date in "dd/MM/yyyy" format and myFormat for representing the output date in "yyyy-MM-dd" format.
2. Use fromUser.parse(fromDate) to parse the input string into a Date object.
3. Apply myFormat.format(parsedDate) to reformat the Date object into the "yyyy-MM-dd" format and assign it to reformattedStr.

By following these steps, you can successfully convert strings with varying date formats into desired Date objects in Java.

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