DateTool (VelocityTools 3.0 API)

java.lang.Object
- org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.SafeConfig
- - org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.LocaleConfig
  - - org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.FormatConfig
    - - org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.DateTool

All Implemented Interfaces:

Serializable

Direct Known Subclasses:

ComparisonDateTool
```
@DefaultKey(value="date")
public class DateTool
extends FormatConfig
implements Serializable
```
Tool for working with Date and Calendar in Velocity templates. It is useful for accessing and formatting the "current" date as well as for formatting arbitrary Date and Calendar objects. Also the tool can be used to retrieve DateFormat instances or make conversions to and from various date types.

Possible formats include:
- 'short', 'medium', 'long', 'full' (from DateFormat, optionally suffixed by '_date' or '_time' to get a date-only or time-only format
- 'iso' for extended ISO 8601 without time zone (ex: '2016-11-24T10:27:30'), optionally suffixed by '_date' or '_time' to get a date-only or time-only format
- 'iso_tz', like 'iso' with time zone offset (ex: '2016-11-24T10:27:30+01:00'), optionally suffixed by '_time' to get a time-only format ('10:27:30+01:00')
- 'intl', like 'iso' but with a space separator between date and time (ex: '2016-11-24 10:27:30'), optionally suffixed by '_date' or '_time' to get a date-only or time-only format
- 'intl_tz', like 'intl' but with the time zone short id suffixed after another space (ex: '2016-11-24 10:27:30 CET'), optionally suffixed by '_time' to get a time-only format ('10:27:30+01:00')
- a custom format, as specified in SimpleDateFormat
Example of formatting the "current" date:
```
  $date                         -> Oct 19, 2003 9:54:50 PM
  $date.long                    -> October 19, 2003 9:54:50 PM PDT
  $date.medium_time             -> 9:54:50 PM
  $date.full_date               -> Sunday, October 19, 2003
  $date.get('default','short')  -> Oct 19, 2003 9:54 PM
  $date.get('yyyy-M-d H:m:s')   -> 2003-10-19 21:54:50
  $date.iso                     -> 2003-10-19T21:54:50-07:00
  $date.iso_tz_time             -> 21:54:50-07:00
  $date.intl_tz                 -> 2003-10-19 21:54:50 CET

 Example of formatting an arbitrary date:
  $myDate                        -> Tue Oct 07 03:14:50 PDT 2003
  $date.format('medium',$myDate) -> Oct 7, 2003 3:14:50 AM

 Example tools.xml config (if you want to use this with VelocityView):
 <tools>
   <toolbox scope="application">
     <tool class="org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.DateTool"
              format="yyyy-MM-dd"/>
   </toolbox>
 </tools>
 
```
Should you need to use several formats, you can either use explicit formats by means of the toDate(format, date) method, or you can declare several date tool instances with different formats.

The methods of this tool are highly interconnected, and overriding key methods provides an easy way to create subclasses that use a non-default format, calendar, locale, or timezone.
Since:

VelocityTools 1.0

Version:

$Revision: 1842514 $ $Date: 2018-10-01 18:09:11 +0200 (Mon, 01 Oct 2018) $

Author:

Nathan Bubna

See Also:

Serialized Form

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type Field and Description

static String TIMEZONE_KEY
The key used for specifying a default timezone via tool configuration.
- Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.FormatConfig
  DEFAULT_FORMAT, FORMAT_KEY
- Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.LocaleConfig
  DEFAULT_LOCALE
- Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.SafeConfig
  LOCK_CONFIG_KEY, log, LOGGER_NAME_KEY, SAFE_MODE_KEY, USE_CLASS_LOGGER_KEY

Fields
Modifier and Type	Field and Description
`static String`	`TIMEZONE_KEY` The key used for specifying a default timezone via tool configuration.

Constructor Summary

Constructors
Constructor and Description

DateTool()

Constructors
Constructor and Description
`DateTool()`

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods
Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`protected void`	`configure(ValueParser values)` Does the actual configuration.
`String`	`format(Object obj)` Converts the specified object to a date and formats it according to the pattern or style returned by `FormatConfig.getFormat()`.
`String`	`format(String format, Object obj)` Converts the specified object to a date and returns a formatted string representing that date in the locale returned by `LocaleConfig.getLocale()`.
`String`	`format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale)` Converts the specified object to a date and returns a formatted string representing that date in the specified `Locale`.
`String`	`format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)` Returns a formatted string representing the specified date, `Locale`, and `TimeZone`.
`String`	`format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj)` Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified date and/or time styles.
`String`	`format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale)` Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified `Locale` and date and/or time styles.
`String`	`format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)` Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified `Locale` and date and/or time styles.
`String`	`get(String format)` Returns a formatted string representing the date returned by `getDate()`.
`String`	`get(String dateStyle, String timeStyle)` Returns a formatted string representing the date and/or time given by `getDate()` in standard, localized patterns.
`Calendar`	`getCalendar()` Returns a `Calendar` instance created using the timezone and locale returned by getTimeZone() and getLocale().
`Date`	`getDate()` Returns a `Date` derived from the result of `getCalendar()`
`DateFormat`	`getDateFormat(String format, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)` Returns a `DateFormat` instance for the specified format, `Locale`, and `TimeZone`.
`DateFormat`	`getDateFormat(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)` Returns a `DateFormat` instance for the specified date style, time style, `Locale`, and `TimeZone`.
`Integer`	`getDay()`
`Integer`	`getDay(Object date)`
`Integer`	`getMonth()`
`Integer`	`getMonth(Object date)`
`static Calendar`	`getSystemCalendar()`
`static Date`	`getSystemDate()`
`static long`	`getSystemTime()`
`TimeZone`	`getTimeZone()` Returns the configured `TimeZone`.
`Integer`	`getValue(int field, Object date)`
`Integer`	`getValue(Object field)`
`Integer`	`getValue(Object field, Object date)`
`Integer`	`getYear()`
`Integer`	`getYear(Object date)`
`protected void`	`setTimeZone(TimeZone timezone)` Sets time zone
`Calendar`	`toCalendar(Object obj)` Converts an object to an instance of `Calendar` using the locale returned by `LocaleConfig.getLocale()` if necessary.
`Calendar`	`toCalendar(Object obj, Locale locale)` Converts an object to an instance of `Calendar` using the locale returned by `LocaleConfig.getLocale()` if necessary.
`Date`	`toDate(Object obj)` Converts an object to an instance of `Date` using the format returned by `FormatConfig.getFormat()`,the `Locale` returned by `LocaleConfig.getLocale()`, and the `TimeZone` returned by `getTimeZone()` if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
`Date`	`toDate(String format, Object obj)` Converts an object to an instance of `Date` using the specified format,the `Locale` returned by `LocaleConfig.getLocale()`, and the `TimeZone` returned by `getTimeZone()` if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
`Date`	`toDate(String format, Object obj, Locale locale)` Converts an object to an instance of `Date` using the specified format and `Locale` if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
`Date`	`toDate(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)` Converts an object to an instance of `Date` using the specified format, `Locale`, and `TimeZone` if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
`String`	`toLocalizedPattern(String format, Locale locale)` Returns a localized date format pattern for the given format.
`String`	`toString()`

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.FormatConfig
getFormat, setFormat

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.LocaleConfig
getLocale, setLocale, toLocale

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.SafeConfig
configure, getLog, initLogger, isConfigLocked, isSafeMode, setLockConfig, setSafeMode

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

- Field Detail
  - TIMEZONE_KEY
```
public static final String TIMEZONE_KEY
```
    The key used for specifying a default timezone via tool configuration.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
- Constructor Detail
  - DateTool
```
public DateTool()
```
- Method Detail
  - configure
```
protected void configure(ValueParser values)
```
    Does the actual configuration. This is protected, so subclasses may share the same ValueParser and call configure at any time, while preventing templates from doing so when configure(Map) is locked.
    
    Overrides:
    
    configure in class FormatConfig
    
    Parameters:
    
    values - configuration values
  - setTimeZone
```
protected void setTimeZone(TimeZone timezone)
```
    Sets time zone
    
    Parameters:
    
    timezone - time zone
  - getSystemTime
```
public static final long getSystemTime()
```
    Returns:
    
    the system's current time as the number of milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.
  - getSystemDate
```
public static final Date getSystemDate()
```
    Returns:
    
    the system's current time as a Date
  - getSystemCalendar
```
public static final Calendar getSystemCalendar()
```
    Returns:
    
    the system's current time as a Calendar
  - getTimeZone
```
public TimeZone getTimeZone()
```
    Returns the configured TimeZone. Default value is from TimeZone.getDefault().
    
    Returns:
    
    the configured TimeZone
  - getDate
```
public Date getDate()
```
    Returns a Date derived from the result of getCalendar()
    
    Returns:
    
    a Date derived from the result of getCalendar()
  - getCalendar
```
public Calendar getCalendar()
```
    Returns a Calendar instance created using the timezone and locale returned by getTimeZone() and getLocale(). This allows subclasses to easily override the default locale and timezone used by this tool.
    Sub-classes may override this method to return a Calendar instance not based on the system date. Doing so will also cause the getDate(), get(String), get(String,String), and toString() methods to return dates equivalent to the Calendar returned by this method, because those methods return values derived from the result of this method.
    
    Returns:
    
    a Calendar instance created using the results of getTimeZone() and LocaleConfig.getLocale().
    
    See Also:
    
    Calendar.getInstance(TimeZone zone, Locale aLocale)
  - getYear
```
public Integer getYear()
```
    Returns:
    
    the year value of the date returned by getCalendar().
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getYear
```
public Integer getYear(Object date)
```
    Parameters:
    
    date - target date
    
    Returns:
    
    the year value of the specified date.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getMonth
```
public Integer getMonth()
```
    Returns:
    
    the month value of the date returned by getCalendar().
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getMonth
```
public Integer getMonth(Object date)
```
    Parameters:
    
    date - target date
    
    Returns:
    
    the month value of the specified date.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getDay
```
public Integer getDay()
```
    Returns:
    
    the day (of the month) value of the date returned by getCalendar().
    
    NOTE: Unlike java.util.Date, this returns the day of the month. It is equivalent to Date.getDate() and Calendar.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH). We could not call this method getDate() because that already exists in this class with a different function.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getDay
```
public Integer getDay(Object date)
```
    Parameters:
    
    date - target date
    
    Returns:
    
    the day (of the month) value for the specified date.
    
    NOTE: Unlike java.util.Date, this returns the day of the month. It is equivalent to Date.getDate() and Calendar.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH). We could not call this method getDate() because that already exists in this class with a different function.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getValue
```
public Integer getValue(Object field)
```
    Parameters:
    
    field - target field
    
    Returns:
    
    the specified value of the date returned by getCalendar() or null if the field is invalid.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getValue
```
public Integer getValue(Object field,
                        Object date)
```
    Parameters:
    
    field - the corresponding Integer value or String name of the desired value
    
    date - the date/calendar from which the field value will be taken
    
    Returns:
    
    the specified value of the specified date, or null if the field or date is invalid. The field may be an Integer or it may be the name of the field as a String.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - getValue
```
public Integer getValue(int field,
                        Object date)
```
    Parameters:
    
    field - the int for the desired field (e.g. Calendar.MONTH)
    
    date - the date/calendar from which the field value will be taken
    
    Returns:
    
    the specified value of the specified date, or null if the field or date is invalid.
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.2
  - get
```
public String get(String format)
```
    Returns a formatted string representing the date returned by getDate(). In its default implementation, this method allows you to retrieve the current date in standard formats by simply doing things like $date.medium or $date.full. If you want only the date or time portion you can specify that along with the standard formats. (e.g. $date.medium_date or $date.short_time) More complex or custom formats can be retrieved by using the full method syntax. (e.g. $date.get('E, MMMM d'))
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - the formatting instructions
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted representation of the date returned by getDate()
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - get
```
public String get(String dateStyle,
                  String timeStyle)
```
    Returns a formatted string representing the date and/or time given by getDate() in standard, localized patterns.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the style pattern for the date
    
    timeStyle - the style pattern for the time
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted representation of the date returned by getDate()
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    DateFormat, format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(Object obj)
```
    Converts the specified object to a date and formats it according to the pattern or style returned by FormatConfig.getFormat().
    
    Parameters:
    
    obj - the date object to be formatted
    
    Returns:
    
    the specified date formatted as a string
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(String format,
                     Object obj)
```
    Converts the specified object to a date and returns a formatted string representing that date in the locale returned by LocaleConfig.getLocale().
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - the formatting instructions
    
    obj - the date object to be formatted
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted string for this locale representing the specified date or null if the parameters are invalid
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(String format,
                     Object obj,
                     Locale locale)
```
    Converts the specified object to a date and returns a formatted string representing that date in the specified Locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - the formatting instructions
    
    obj - the date object to be formatted
    
    locale - the locale to be used when formatting
    
    Returns:
    
    the given date as a formatted string
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(String format,
                     Object obj,
                     Locale locale,
                     TimeZone timezone)
```
    Returns a formatted string representing the specified date, Locale, and TimeZone.
    The specified format may be a standard style pattern ('full', 'long', 'medium', 'short', or 'default') or extended style pattern ('iso', 'iso_tz', 'intl', 'intl_tz').
    
    You may also specify that you want only the date or time portion be appending '_date' or '_time' respectively to the standard style pattern. (e.g. 'full_date', 'long_time', 'intl_date')
    
    If the format fits neither of these patterns, then the output will be formatted according to the symbols defined by SimpleDateFormat.
```
   Examples: "E, MMMM d" will result in "Tue, July 24"
             "EEE, M-d (H:m)" will result in "Tuesday, 7-24 (14:12)"
 
```
    Parameters:
    
    format - the custom or standard pattern to be used
    
    obj - the date to format
    
    locale - the Locale to format the date for
    
    timezone - the TimeZone to be used when formatting
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted string representing the specified date or null if the parameters are invalid
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
  - format
```
public String format(String dateStyle,
                     String timeStyle,
                     Object obj)
```
    Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified date and/or time styles.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the style pattern for the date
    
    timeStyle - the style pattern for the time
    
    obj - the date to be formatted
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted representation of the given date
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(String dateStyle,
                     String timeStyle,
                     Object obj,
                     Locale locale)
```
    Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified Locale and date and/or time styles.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the style pattern for the date
    
    timeStyle - the style pattern for the time
    
    obj - the date to be formatted
    
    locale - the Locale to be used for formatting the date
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted representation of the given date
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - format
```
public String format(String dateStyle,
                     String timeStyle,
                     Object obj,
                     Locale locale,
                     TimeZone timezone)
```
    Returns the specified date as a string formatted according to the specified Locale and date and/or time styles.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the style pattern for the date
    
    timeStyle - the style pattern for the time
    
    obj - the date to be formatted
    
    locale - the Locale to be used for formatting the date
    
    timezone - the TimeZone the date should be formatted for
    
    Returns:
    
    a formatted representation of the given date
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    DateFormat, format(String dateStyle, String timeStyle, Object obj, Locale locale, TimeZone timezone)
  - getDateFormat
```
public DateFormat getDateFormat(String format,
                                Locale locale,
                                TimeZone timezone)
```
    Returns a DateFormat instance for the specified format, Locale, and TimeZone. If the format specified is a standard style pattern, then a date-time instance will be returned with both the date and time styles set to the specified style. If it is a custom format, then a customized SimpleDateFormat will be returned.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - the custom or standard formatting pattern to be used
    
    locale - the Locale to be used
    
    timezone - the TimeZone to be used
    
    Returns:
    
    an instance of DateFormat
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    SimpleDateFormat, DateFormat
  - getDateFormat
```
public DateFormat getDateFormat(String dateStyle,
                                String timeStyle,
                                Locale locale,
                                TimeZone timezone)
```
    Returns a DateFormat instance for the specified date style, time style, Locale, and TimeZone.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the date style
    
    timeStyle - the time style
    
    locale - the Locale to be used
    
    timezone - the TimeZone to be used
    
    Returns:
    
    an instance of DateFormat
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 1.1
    
    See Also:
    
    ConversionUtils.getDateFormat(int,int,Locale,TimeZone)
  - toDate
```
public Date toDate(Object obj)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Date using the format returned by FormatConfig.getFormat(),the Locale returned by LocaleConfig.getLocale(), and the TimeZone returned by getTimeZone() if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
    
    Parameters:
    
    obj - the date to convert
    
    Returns:
    
    the object as a Date or null if no conversion is possible
  - toDate
```
public Date toDate(String format,
                   Object obj)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Date using the specified format,the Locale returned by LocaleConfig.getLocale(), and the TimeZone returned by getTimeZone() if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - - the format the date is in
    
    obj - - the date to convert
    
    Returns:
    
    the object as a Date or null if no conversion is possible
    
    See Also:
    
    toDate(String format, Object obj, Locale locale)
  - toDate
```
public Date toDate(String format,
                   Object obj,
                   Locale locale)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Date using the specified format and Locale if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - - the format the date is in
    
    obj - - the date to convert
    
    locale - - the Locale
    
    Returns:
    
    the object as a Date or null if no conversion is possible
    
    See Also:
    
    SimpleDateFormat.parse(java.lang.String, java.text.ParsePosition)
  - toDate
```
public Date toDate(String format,
                   Object obj,
                   Locale locale,
                   TimeZone timezone)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Date using the specified format, Locale, and TimeZone if the object is not already an instance of Date, Calendar, or Long.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - - the format the date is in
    
    obj - - the date to convert
    
    locale - - the Locale
    
    timezone - - the TimeZone
    
    Returns:
    
    the object as a Date or null if no conversion is possible
    
    See Also:
    
    getDateFormat(java.lang.String, java.util.Locale, java.util.TimeZone), SimpleDateFormat.parse(java.lang.String, java.text.ParsePosition)
  - toCalendar
```
public Calendar toCalendar(Object obj)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Calendar using the locale returned by LocaleConfig.getLocale() if necessary.
    
    Parameters:
    
    obj - the date to convert
    
    Returns:
    
    the converted date
    
    See Also:
    
    toCalendar(Object obj, Locale locale)
  - toCalendar
```
public Calendar toCalendar(Object obj,
                           Locale locale)
```
    Converts an object to an instance of Calendar using the locale returned by LocaleConfig.getLocale() if necessary.
    
    Parameters:
    
    obj - the date to convert
    
    locale - the locale used
    
    Returns:
    
    the converted date
    
    See Also:
    
    toDate(String format, Object obj, Locale locale), Calendar
  - toLocalizedPattern
```
public String toLocalizedPattern(String format,
                                 Locale locale)
```
    Returns a localized date format pattern for the given format. SimpleDateFormat uses patterns that are based upon English words (such as Month = M, Day = d, and Year = y). When displaying a format pattern to readers of other languages, it is appropriate to display these patterns using their localized expectations. For instance, the date pattern yyyy-MM-dd should, for French speakers appear as "aaaa-MM-jj". SimpleDateFormat.toLocalizedPattern() provides this functionality, and this method merely calls that on an appropriately-constructed SimpleDateFormat object.
    
    Parameters:
    
    format - the custom or standard pattern to convert
    
    locale - the Locale to format for pattern for
    
    Returns:
    
    a format string appropriate for the specified Locale
    
    Since:
    
    VelocityTools 2.0
  - toString
```
public String toString()
```
    Overrides:
    
    toString in class Object
    
    Returns:
    
    the result of getDate() formatted according to the result of FormatConfig.getFormat().
    
    See Also:
    
    format(String format, Object obj)

Class DateTool

Field Summary

Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.FormatConfig

Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.LocaleConfig

Fields inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.SafeConfig

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.FormatConfig

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.LocaleConfig

Methods inherited from class org.apache.velocity.tools.generic.SafeConfig

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Field Detail

TIMEZONE_KEY

Constructor Detail

DateTool

Method Detail

configure

setTimeZone

getSystemTime

getSystemDate

getSystemCalendar

getTimeZone

getDate

getCalendar

getYear

getYear

getMonth

getMonth

getDay

getDay

getValue

getValue

getValue

get

get

format

format

format

format

format

format

format

getDateFormat

getDateFormat

toDate

toDate

toDate

toDate

toCalendar

toCalendar

toLocalizedPattern

toString