format date using SimpleDateFormat

Question

I am getting parser Exception while parsing the below date using simple date format API.

  String inputTimeStamp = "2012/07/19 09:49:00 - GMT -08:00";
  java.text.SimpleDateFormat dateformate= new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
  effDate = dateformate.parse(inputTimeStamp);

Please help me out on this.

Answer 1

Change

java.text.SimpleDateFormat dateformate=
    new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");

to

java.text.SimpleDateFormat dateformate=
    new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss");

You have slashes (/) in your inputTimeStamp

Answer 2

Because you are parsing a date which is in a different format then you have described it to the SimpleDateFormat. If effDate is of type String and should hold the formatted date, the following code might solve it, although there is not supposed to be an space between GMTand -08:00 .

 String inputTimeStamp = "2012/07/19 09:49:00 - GMT -08:00";
 SimpleDateFormat inputDateformat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss - z"); 
 SimpleDateFormat dateformate = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
 effDate = dateformate.format(inputDateFormat.parse(inputTimeStamp));

I would highly recommend also joda time, especially when you want to do calculations on the date.

 String inputTimeStamp = "2012/07/19 09:49:00 - GMT -08:00";
 DateTimeFormatter inputDateformat = DateTimeFormat.forPattern("yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss - z Z"); 
 DateTimeFormatter dateformate = DateTimeFormat.forPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
 effDate = dateformate.print(inputDateFormat.parseDateTime(inputTimeStamp));

Answer 3

The pattern would be: yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss - z where z is for General Time Zone. SimpleDateFormat.

Answer 4

Try this:

new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss - z");

See this FYR