Class DateUtils


  • public final class DateUtils
    extends Object
    A utility class for parsing and formatting HTTP dates as used in cookies and other headers. This class handles dates as defined by RFC 2616 section 3.3.1 as well as some other common non-standard formats.
    Since:
    4.3
    • Field Detail

      • PATTERN_RFC1123

        public static final String PATTERN_RFC1123
        Date format pattern used to parse HTTP date headers in RFC 1123 format.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • PATTERN_RFC1036

        public static final String PATTERN_RFC1036
        Date format pattern used to parse HTTP date headers in RFC 1036 format.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • PATTERN_ASCTIME

        public static final String PATTERN_ASCTIME
        Date format pattern used to parse HTTP date headers in ANSI C asctime() format.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
    • Method Detail

      • parseDate

        public static Date parseDate​(String dateValue)
        Parses a date value. The formats used for parsing the date value are retrieved from the default http params.
        Parameters:
        dateValue - the date value to parse
        Returns:
        the parsed date or null if input could not be parsed
      • parseDate

        public static Date parseDate​(String dateValue,
                                     String[] dateFormats)
        Parses the date value using the given date formats.
        Parameters:
        dateValue - the date value to parse
        dateFormats - the date formats to use
        Returns:
        the parsed date or null if input could not be parsed
      • parseDate

        public static Date parseDate​(String dateValue,
                                     String[] dateFormats,
                                     Date startDate)
        Parses the date value using the given date formats.
        Parameters:
        dateValue - the date value to parse
        dateFormats - the date formats to use
        startDate - During parsing, two digit years will be placed in the range startDate to startDate + 100 years. This value may be null. When null is given as a parameter, year 2000 will be used.
        Returns:
        the parsed date or null if input could not be parsed
      • formatDate

        public static String formatDate​(Date date)
        Formats the given date according to the RFC 1123 pattern.
        Parameters:
        date - The date to format.
        Returns:
        An RFC 1123 formatted date string.
        See Also:
        PATTERN_RFC1123
      • formatDate

        public static String formatDate​(Date date,
                                        String pattern)
        Formats the given date according to the specified pattern. The pattern must conform to that used by the simple date format class.
        Parameters:
        date - The date to format.
        pattern - The pattern to use for formatting the date.
        Returns:
        A formatted date string.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the given date pattern is invalid.
        See Also:
        SimpleDateFormat
      • clearThreadLocal

        public static void clearThreadLocal()
        Clears thread-local variable containing DateFormat cache.
        Since:
        4.3