Class DateFormat

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    java.io.Serializable, java.lang.Cloneable
    Direct Known Subclasses:
    SimpleDateFormat

    public abstract class DateFormat
    extends UFormat
    .

    DateFormat is an abstract class for date/time formatting subclasses which formats and parses dates or time in a language-independent manner. The date/time formatting subclass, such as SimpleDateFormat, allows for formatting (i.e., date -> text), parsing (text -> date), and normalization. The date is represented as a Date object or as the milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.

    DateFormat helps you to format and parse dates for any locale. Your code can be completely independent of the locale conventions for months, days of the week, or even the calendar format: lunar vs. solar. It provides many class methods for obtaining default date/time formatters based on the default for a given locale and a number of formatting styles or arbitrary "skeletons".

    1. The formatting styles include FULL, LONG, MEDIUM, and SHORT. More detail and examples of using these styles are provided in the method descriptions.
    2. The formatting styles only cover a fraction of the necessary usage. You often need to have just certain combinations of fields, like Month and Year, but have it to be formatted appropriate to a given locale. This is done using the (misnamed) getPatternInstance() method, supplying a skeleton. There are a number of constants that have common pre-defined skeletons, such as MINUTE_SECOND for something like "13:45" or YEAR_ABBR_MONTH for something like "Sept 2012".

    To format a date for the current Locale, use one of the static factory methods:

     myString = DateFormat.getDateInstance().format(myDate);
     myString = DateFormat.getPatternInstance(DateFormat.YEAR_ABBR_MONTH).format(myDate);
     

    If you are formatting multiple numbers, it is more efficient to get the format and use it multiple times so that the system doesn't have to fetch the information about the local language and country conventions multiple times.

     DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance();
     for (int i = 0; i < a.length; ++i) {
         output.println(df.format(myDate[i]) + "; ");
     }
     

    To format a date for a different Locale, specify it in the call to getDateInstance().

     DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.LONG, Locale.FRANCE);
     

    You can use a DateFormat to parse also.

     myDate = df.parse(myString);
     

    There are many static factory methods available. Use getDateInstance to get the normal date format for that country. Use getTimeInstance to get the time format for that country. Use getDateTimeInstance to get a date and time format. You can pass in different options to these factory methods to control the length of the result; from SHORT to MEDIUM to LONG to FULL. The exact result depends on the locale, but generally:

    • SHORT is completely numeric, such as 12.13.52 or 3:30pm
    • MEDIUM is longer, such as Jan 12, 1952
    • LONG is longer, such as January 12, 1952 or 3:30:32pm
    • FULL is pretty completely specified, such as Tuesday, April 12, 1952 AD or 3:30:42pm PST.

    Use getPatternInstance to format with a skeleton. Typically this is with a predefined skeleton, like YEAR_ABBR_MONTH for something like "Sept 2012". If you don't want to use one of the predefined skeletons, you can supply your own. The skeletons are like the patterns in SimpleDateFormat, except they:

    1. only keep the field pattern letter and ignore all other parts in a pattern, such as space, punctuation, and string literals.
    2. are independent of the order of fields.
    3. ignore certain differences in the field's pattern letter length:
      1. For those non-digit calendar fields, the pattern letter length is important, such as MMM, MMMM, and MMMMM; E and EEEE, and the field's pattern letter length is honored.
      2. For the digit calendar fields, such as M or MM, d or dd, yy or yyyy, the field pattern length is ignored and the best match, which is defined in date time patterns, will be returned without honor the field pattern letter length in skeleton.

    You can also set the time zone on the format if you wish. If you want even more control over the format or parsing, (or want to give your users more control), you can try casting the DateFormat you get from the factory methods to a SimpleDateFormat. This will work for the majority of countries; just remember to put it in a try block in case you encounter an unusual one.

    You can also use forms of the parse and format methods with ParsePosition and FieldPosition to allow you to

    • progressively parse through pieces of a string.
    • align any particular field, or find out where it is for selection on the screen.

    Synchronization

    Date formats are not synchronized. It is recommended to create separate format instances for each thread. If multiple threads access a format concurrently, it must be synchronized externally.
    Author:
    Mark Davis, Chen-Lieh Huang, Alan Liu
    See Also:
    UFormat, NumberFormat, SimpleDateFormat, Calendar, GregorianCalendar, TimeZone, Serialized Form
    • Field Detail

      • calendar

        protected Calendar calendar
        The calendar that DateFormat uses to produce the time field values needed to implement date and time formatting. Subclasses should initialize this to a calendar appropriate for the locale associated with this DateFormat.
      • numberFormat

        protected NumberFormat numberFormat
        The number formatter that DateFormat uses to format numbers in dates and times. Subclasses should initialize this to a number format appropriate for the locale associated with this DateFormat.
      • ERA_FIELD

        public static final int ERA_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'G' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ERA field.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_FIELD

        public static final int YEAR_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'y' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.YEAR field.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • DATE_FIELD

        public static final int DATE_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'd' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DATE field.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD

        public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'k' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY field. HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD is used for the one-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 24:59.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD

        public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'H' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY field. HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 00:59.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD

        public static final int FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'S' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MILLISECOND field. Note: Time formats that use 'S' can display a maximum of three significant digits for fractional seconds, corresponding to millisecond resolution and a fractional seconds sub-pattern of SSS. If the sub-pattern is S or SS, the fractional seconds value will be truncated (not rounded) to the number of display places specified. If the fractional seconds sub-pattern is longer than SSS, the additional display places will be filled with zeros.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MILLISECOND_FIELD

        public static final int MILLISECOND_FIELD
        Alias for FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR1_FIELD

        public static final int HOUR1_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'h' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR field. HOUR1_FIELD is used for the one-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 12:30 AM.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR0_FIELD

        public static final int HOUR0_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'K' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR field. HOUR0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 00:30 AM.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD

        public static final int STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'c' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK field. This displays the stand alone day name, if available.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD

        public static final int STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'L' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the stand alone month name, if available.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • QUARTER_FIELD

        public static final int QUARTER_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'Q' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the quarter.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD

        public static final int STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'q' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the stand alone quarter, if available.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD

        public static final int TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'V' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the fallback timezone name when VVVV is specified, and the short standard or daylight timezone name ignoring commonlyUsed when a single V is specified.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_NAME_FIELD

        public static final int YEAR_NAME_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'U' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.YEAR field. This displays the cyclic year name, if available.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD

        public static final int AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'b' field alignment. No related Calendar field. This displays the fixed day period (am/pm/midnight/noon).
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD

        public static final int FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD
        FieldPosition selector for 'B' field alignment. No related Calendar field. This displays the flexible day period.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • TIME_SEPARATOR

        @Deprecated
        public static final int TIME_SEPARATOR
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        FieldPosition selector time separator, no related Calendar field. No pattern character is currently defined for this.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • FIELD_COUNT

        @Deprecated
        public static final int FIELD_COUNT
        Deprecated.
        ICU 58 The numeric value may change over time, see ICU ticket #12420.
        Number of FieldPosition selectors for DateFormat. Valid selectors range from 0 to FIELD_COUNT-1.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MEDIUM

        public static final int MEDIUM
        Constant for medium style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • DEFAULT

        public static final int DEFAULT
        Constant for default style pattern. Its value is MEDIUM.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE

        public static final int RELATIVE
        Constant for relative style mask.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE_FULL

        public static final int RELATIVE_FULL
        Constant for relative full style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE_LONG

        public static final int RELATIVE_LONG
        Constant for relative style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE_MEDIUM

        public static final int RELATIVE_MEDIUM
        Constant for relative style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE_SHORT

        public static final int RELATIVE_SHORT
        Constant for relative style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATIVE_DEFAULT

        public static final int RELATIVE_DEFAULT
        Constant for relative default style pattern.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR
        Constant for date skeleton with year.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • QUARTER

        public static final java.lang.String QUARTER
        Constant for date skeleton with quarter.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_QUARTER

        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_QUARTER
        Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated quarter.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_QUARTER

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_QUARTER
        Constant for date skeleton with year and quarter.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER
        Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated quarter.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • NUM_MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String NUM_MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with numeric month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with year and month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_ABBR_MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_NUM_MONTH

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_NUM_MONTH
        Constant for date skeleton with year and numeric month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • DAY

        public static final java.lang.String DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with day.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • WEEKDAY

        public static final java.lang.String WEEKDAY
        Constant for date skeleton with weekday.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_WEEKDAY

        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_WEEKDAY
        Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated weekday.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • YEAR_NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String YEAR_NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with long month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • NUM_MONTH_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String NUM_MONTH_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with numeric month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY

        public static final java.lang.String NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
        Constant for date skeleton with numeric month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • DATE_SKELETONS

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.util.List<java.lang.String> DATE_SKELETONS
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        List of all of the date skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
      • HOUR

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR
        Constant for date skeleton with hour, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24).
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR24

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR24
        Constant for date skeleton with hour in 24-hour presentation.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MINUTE

        public static final java.lang.String MINUTE
        Constant for date skeleton with minute.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_MINUTE

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_MINUTE
        Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24). Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR24_MINUTE

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR24_MINUTE
        Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute in 24-hour presentation. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • SECOND

        public static final java.lang.String SECOND
        Constant for date skeleton with second.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_MINUTE_SECOND

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_MINUTE_SECOND
        Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24). Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR24_MINUTE_SECOND

        public static final java.lang.String HOUR24_MINUTE_SECOND
        Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second in 24-hour presentation. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • MINUTE_SECOND

        public static final java.lang.String MINUTE_SECOND
        Constant for date skeleton with minute and second. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • TIME_SKELETONS

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.util.List<java.lang.String> TIME_SKELETONS
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        List of all of the time skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
      • ZONE_SKELETONS

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.util.List<java.lang.String> ZONE_SKELETONS
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        List of all of the zone skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
      • STANDALONE_MONTH

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String STANDALONE_MONTH
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use MONTH instead.
        Constant for date skeleton with standalone month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ABBR_STANDALONE_MONTH

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String ABBR_STANDALONE_MONTH
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use ABBR_MONTH instead.
        Constant for date skeleton with standalone abbreviated month.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_MINUTE_GENERIC_TZ

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_MINUTE_GENERIC_TZ
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use instead HOUR_MINUTE+ABBR_GENERIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
        Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and generic timezone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_MINUTE_TZ

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_MINUTE_TZ
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use instead HOUR_MINUTE+ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
        Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and timezone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_GENERIC_TZ

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_GENERIC_TZ
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use instead HOUR+ABBR_GENERIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
        Constant for date skeleton with hour and generic timezone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • HOUR_TZ

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String HOUR_TZ
        Deprecated.
        ICU 50 Use instead HOUR+ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
        Constant for date skeleton with hour and timezone.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • JP_ERA_2019_ROOT

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String JP_ERA_2019_ROOT
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, root/English abbreviated version (ASCII-range characters).
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • JP_ERA_2019_JA

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String JP_ERA_2019_JA
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, Japanese abbreviated version (Han, or fullwidth Latin for testing).
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • JP_ERA_2019_NARROW

        @Deprecated
        public static final java.lang.String JP_ERA_2019_NARROW
        Deprecated.
        This API is ICU internal only.
        Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, root and Japanese narrow version (ASCII-range characters).
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
    • Constructor Detail

      • DateFormat

        protected DateFormat()
        Creates a new date format.
    • Method Detail

      • format

        public final java.lang.StringBuffer format​(java.lang.Object obj,
                                                   java.lang.StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                                                   java.text.FieldPosition fieldPosition)
        Formats a time object into a time string. Examples of time objects are a time value expressed in milliseconds and a Date object.
        Specified by:
        format in class java.text.Format
        Parameters:
        obj - must be a Number or a Date or a Calendar.
        toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning time string.
        fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
        Returns:
        the formatted time string.
        See Also:
        Format
      • format

        public abstract java.lang.StringBuffer format​(Calendar cal,
                                                      java.lang.StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                                                      java.text.FieldPosition fieldPosition)
        Formats a date into a date/time string.
        Parameters:
        cal - a Calendar set to the date and time to be formatted into a date/time string. When the calendar type is different from the internal calendar held by this DateFormat instance, the date and the time zone will be inherited from the input calendar, but other calendar field values will be calculated by the internal calendar.
        toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date/time string.
        fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
        Returns:
        the formatted date/time string.
      • format

        public java.lang.StringBuffer format​(java.util.Date date,
                                             java.lang.StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                                             java.text.FieldPosition fieldPosition)
        Formats a Date into a date/time string.
        Parameters:
        date - a Date to be formatted into a date/time string.
        toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date/time string.
        fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
        Returns:
        the formatted date/time string.
      • format

        public final java.lang.String format​(java.util.Date date)
        Formats a Date into a date/time string.
        Parameters:
        date - the time value to be formatted into a time string.
        Returns:
        the formatted time string.
      • parse

        public java.util.Date parse​(java.lang.String text)
                             throws java.text.ParseException
        Parses a date/time string. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Date that is equivalent to Date(837039928046). Parsing begins at the beginning of the string and proceeds as far as possible. Assuming no parse errors were encountered, this function doesn't return any information about how much of the string was consumed by the parsing. If you need that information, use a version of parse() that takes a ParsePosition.

        By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).

        Note that the normal date formats associated with some calendars - such as the Chinese lunar calendar - do not specify enough fields to enable dates to be parsed unambiguously. In the case of the Chinese lunar calendar, while the year within the current 60-year cycle is specified, the number of such cycles since the start date of the calendar (in the ERA field of the Calendar object) is not normally part of the format, and parsing may assume the wrong era. For cases such as this it is recommended that clients parse using the parse method that takes a Calendar with the Calendar passed in set to the current date, or to a date within the era/cycle that should be assumed if absent in the format.

        Parameters:
        text - The date/time string to be parsed
        Returns:
        A Date, or null if the input could not be parsed
        Throws:
        java.text.ParseException - If the given string cannot be parsed as a date.
        See Also:
        parse(String, ParsePosition)
      • parse

        public abstract void parse​(java.lang.String text,
                                   Calendar cal,
                                   java.text.ParsePosition pos)
        Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Calendar that is equivalent to Date(837039928046). Before calling this method the caller should initialize the calendar in one of two ways (unless existing field information is to be kept): (1) clear the calendar, or (2) set the calendar to the current date (or to any date whose fields should be used to supply values that are missing in the parsed date). For example, Chinese calendar dates do not normally provide an era/cycle; in this case the calendar that is passed in should be set to a date within the era that should be assumed, normally the current era.

        By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).

        Parameters:
        text - The date/time string to be parsed
        cal - The calendar set on input to the date and time to be used for missing values in the date/time string being parsed, and set on output to the parsed date/time. In general, this should be initialized before calling this method - either cleared or set to the current date, depending on desired behavior. If this parse fails, the calendar may still have been modified. When the calendar type is different from the internal calendar held by this DateFormat instance, calendar field values will be parsed based on the internal calendar initialized with the time and the time zone taken from this calendar, then the parse result (time in milliseconds and time zone) will be set back to this calendar.
        pos - On input, the position at which to start parsing; on output, the position at which parsing terminated, or the start position if the parse failed.
        See Also:
        setLenient(boolean)
      • parse

        public java.util.Date parse​(java.lang.String text,
                                    java.text.ParsePosition pos)
        Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Date that is equivalent to Date(837039928046).

        By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).

        Note that the normal date formats associated with some calendars - such as the Chinese lunar calendar - do not specify enough fields to enable dates to be parsed unambiguously. In the case of the Chinese lunar calendar, while the year within the current 60-year cycle is specified, the number of such cycles since the start date of the calendar (in the ERA field of the Calendar object) is not normally part of the format, and parsing may assume the wrong era. For cases such as this it is recommended that clients parse using the parse method that takes a Calendar with the Calendar passed in set to the current date, or to a date within the era/cycle that should be assumed if absent in the format.

        Parameters:
        text - The date/time string to be parsed
        pos - On input, the position at which to start parsing; on output, the position at which parsing terminated, or the start position if the parse failed.
        Returns:
        A Date, or null if the input could not be parsed
        See Also:
        setLenient(boolean)
      • parseObject

        public java.lang.Object parseObject​(java.lang.String source,
                                            java.text.ParsePosition pos)
        Parses a date/time string into an Object. This convenience method simply calls parse(String, ParsePosition).
        Specified by:
        parseObject in class java.text.Format
        See Also:
        parse(String, ParsePosition)
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance()
        Gets the time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
        Returns:
        a time formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(int style)
        Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        Returns:
        a time formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(int style,
                                                       java.util.Locale aLocale)
        Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        aLocale - the given locale.
        Returns:
        a time formatter.
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(int style,
                                                       ULocale locale)
        Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        locale - the given ulocale.
        Returns:
        a time formatter.
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance()
        Returns the date formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
        Returns:
        a date formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(int style)
        Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        Returns:
        a date formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(int style,
                                                       java.util.Locale aLocale)
        Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        aLocale - the given locale.
        Returns:
        a date formatter.
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(int style,
                                                       ULocale locale)
        Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        locale - the given ulocale.
        Returns:
        a date formatter.
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance()
        Returns the date/time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
        Returns:
        a date/time formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle)
        Returns the date/time formatter with the given date and time formatting styles for the default FORMAT locale.
        Parameters:
        dateStyle - the given date formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        timeStyle - the given time formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        Returns:
        a date/time formatter.
        See Also:
        ULocale.Category.FORMAT
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle,
                                                           java.util.Locale aLocale)
        Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        dateStyle - the given date formatting style. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        timeStyle - the given time formatting style. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        aLocale - the given locale.
        Returns:
        a date/time formatter.
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle,
                                                           ULocale locale)
        Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
        Parameters:
        dateStyle - the given date formatting style. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
        timeStyle - the given time formatting style. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
        locale - the given ulocale.
        Returns:
        a date/time formatter.
      • getInstance

        public static final DateFormat getInstance()
        Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
      • getAvailableLocales

        public static java.util.Locale[] getAvailableLocales()
        Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
        Returns:
        the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
      • getAvailableULocales

        public static ULocale[] getAvailableULocales()
        Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
        Returns:
        the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
      • setCalendar

        public void setCalendar​(Calendar newCalendar)
        Sets the calendar to be used by this date format. Initially, the default calendar for the specified or default locale is used.
        Parameters:
        newCalendar - the new Calendar to be used by the date format
      • getCalendar

        public Calendar getCalendar()
        Returns the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
        Returns:
        the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
      • setNumberFormat

        public void setNumberFormat​(NumberFormat newNumberFormat)
        Sets the number formatter.
        Parameters:
        newNumberFormat - the given new NumberFormat.
      • getNumberFormat

        public NumberFormat getNumberFormat()
        Returns the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses to format and parse a time.
        Returns:
        the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses.
      • setTimeZone

        public void setTimeZone​(TimeZone zone)
        Sets the time zone for the calendar of this DateFormat object.
        Parameters:
        zone - the given new time zone.
      • getTimeZone

        public TimeZone getTimeZone()
        Returns the time zone.
        Returns:
        the time zone associated with the calendar of DateFormat.
      • setLenient

        public void setLenient​(boolean lenient)
        Specifies whether date/time parsing is to be lenient. With lenient parsing, the parser may use heuristics to interpret inputs that do not precisely match this object's format. Without lenient parsing, inputs must match this object's format more closely.

        Note: ICU 53 introduced finer grained control of leniency (and added new control points) making the preferred method a combination of setCalendarLenient() & setBooleanAttribute() calls. This method supports prior functionality but may not support all future leniency control & behavior of DateFormat. For control of pre 53 leniency, Calendar and DateFormat whitespace & numeric tolerance, this method is safe to use. However, mixing leniency control via this method and modification of the newer attributes via setBooleanAttribute() may produce undesirable results.
        Parameters:
        lenient - True specifies date/time interpretation to be lenient.
        See Also:
        Calendar.setLenient(boolean), setBooleanAttribute(BooleanAttribute, boolean), setCalendarLenient(boolean)
      • isLenient

        public boolean isLenient()
        Returns whether both date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object and DateFormat whitespace & numeric processing is lenient.
      • setCalendarLenient

        public void setCalendarLenient​(boolean lenient)
        Specifies whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object should be lenient. With lenient parsing, the parser may use heuristics to interpret inputs that do not precisely match this object's format. Without lenient parsing, inputs must match this object's format more closely.
        Parameters:
        lenient - when true, Calendar parsing is lenient
        See Also:
        Calendar.setLenient(boolean)
      • isCalendarLenient

        public boolean isCalendarLenient()
        Returns whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object is lenient.
      • setContext

        public void setContext​(DisplayContext context)
        Set a particular DisplayContext value in the formatter, such as CAPITALIZATION_FOR_STANDALONE.
        Parameters:
        context - The DisplayContext value to set.
      • getContext

        public DisplayContext getContext​(DisplayContext.Type type)
        Get the formatter's DisplayContext value for the specified DisplayContext.Type, such as CAPITALIZATION.
        Parameters:
        type - the DisplayContext.Type whose value to return
        Returns:
        the current DisplayContext setting for the specified type
      • hashCode

        public int hashCode()
        Overrides hashCode.
        Overrides:
        hashCode in class java.lang.Object
      • equals

        public boolean equals​(java.lang.Object obj)
        Overrides equals.
        Overrides:
        equals in class java.lang.Object
      • clone

        public java.lang.Object clone()
        Overrides clone.
        Overrides:
        clone in class java.text.Format
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int dateStyle,
                                                       java.util.Locale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.

        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date format is desired.
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int dateStyle,
                                                       ULocale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.

        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date format is desired.
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int timeStyle,
                                                       java.util.Locale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the time format is desired.
        See Also:
        getTimeInstance()
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int timeStyle,
                                                       ULocale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the time format is desired.
        See Also:
        getTimeInstance()
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                           int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle,
                                                           java.util.Locale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
        See Also:
        getDateTimeInstance()
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                           int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle,
                                                           ULocale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
        See Also:
        getDateTimeInstance()
      • getInstance

        public static final DateFormat getInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                   java.util.Locale locale)
        Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getInstance

        public static final DateFormat getInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                   ULocale locale)
        Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getInstance

        public static final DateFormat getInstance​(Calendar cal)
        Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
      • getDateInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int dateStyle)
        Creates a DateFormat object for the default locale that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.

        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
      • getTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                       int timeStyle)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        See Also:
        getTimeInstance()
      • getDateTimeInstance

        public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                           int dateStyle,
                                                           int timeStyle)
        Creates a DateFormat object for the default locale that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
        See Also:
        getDateTimeInstance()
      • getInstanceForSkeleton

        public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton​(java.lang.String skeleton)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
      • getInstanceForSkeleton

        public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton​(java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                              java.util.Locale locale)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getInstanceForSkeleton

        public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton​(java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                              ULocale locale)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getInstanceForSkeleton

        public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton​(Calendar cal,
                                                              java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                              java.util.Locale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getInstanceForSkeleton

        public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton​(Calendar cal,
                                                              java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                              ULocale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getPatternInstance

        public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance​(java.lang.String skeleton)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
      • getPatternInstance

        public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance​(java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                          java.util.Locale locale)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getPatternInstance

        public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance​(java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                          ULocale locale)
        Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
        Parameters:
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getPatternInstance

        public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                          java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                          java.util.Locale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
      • getPatternInstance

        public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance​(Calendar cal,
                                                          java.lang.String skeleton,
                                                          ULocale locale)
        Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
        Parameters:
        cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
        skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
        locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.