How to format date in JSP?

The <fmt:formatDate> tag is used to format dates in a variety of ways.

Attribute

The <fmt:formatDate> tag has the following attributes −

Attribute Description Required Default
Value Date value to display Yes None
type DATE, TIME, or BOTH No date
dateStyle FULL, LONG, MEDIUM, SHORT, or DEFAULT No default
timeStyle FULL, LONG, MEDIUM, SHORT, or DEFAULT No default
pattern Custom formatting pattern No None
timeZone Time zone of the displayed date No Default time zone
var Name of the variable to store the formatted date No Print to page
scope Scope of the variable to store the formatted date No page

The pattern attribute is used to specify even more precise handling of the date −

Code Purpose Sample
G The era designator AD
y The year 2002
M The month April & 04
d The day of the month 20
h The hour(12-hour time) 12
H The hour(24-hour time) 0
m The minute 45
s The second 52
S The millisecond 970
E The day of the week Tuesday
D The day of the year 180
F The day of the week in the month 2 (2nd Wed in month)
w The week in the year 27
W The week in the month 2
a The a.m./p.m. indicator PM
k The hour(12-hour time) 24
K The hour(24-hour time) 0
z The time zone Central Standard Time
'
The escape for text
''
The single quote

Example

<%@ taglib prefix = "c" uri = "http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" %>
<%@ taglib prefix = "fmt" uri = "http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/fmt" %>
<html>
   <head>
      <title>JSTL fmt:dateNumber Tag</title>
   </head>
   <body>
      <h3>Number Format:</h3>
      <c:set var = "now" value = "<% = new java.util.Date()%>" />
      <p>Formatted Date (1): <fmt:formatDate type = "time" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (2): <fmt:formatDate type = "date" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (3): <fmt:formatDate type = "both" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (4): <fmt:formatDate type = "both" dateStyle = "short" timeStyle = "short" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (5): <fmt:formatDate type = "both" dateStyle = "medium" timeStyle = "medium" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (6): <fmt:formatDate type = "both" dateStyle = "long" timeStyle = "long" value = "${now}" /></p>
      <p>Formatted Date (7): <fmt:formatDate pattern = "yyyy-MM-dd" value = "${now}" /></p>
   </body>
</html>

The above code will generate the following result −

Date Format:
Formatted Date (1): 14:27:18
Formatted Date (2): 23-Sep-2010
Formatted Date (3): 23-Sep-2010 14:27:18
Formatted Date (4): 23/09/10 14:27
Formatted Date (5): 23-Sep-2010 14:27:18
Formatted Date (6): 23 September 2010 14:27:18 GST
Formatted Date (7): 2010-09-23
Updated on: 2019-07-30T22:30:25+05:30

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