Date Formatting Using printf

Date and time formatting can be done very easily using the printf method. You use a two-letter format, starting with t and ending in one of the letters of the table as shown in the following code.

Example

Live Demo

import java.util.Date;
public class DateDemo {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      // Instantiate a Date object
      Date date = new Date();

      // display time and date
      String str = String.format("Current Date/Time : %tc", date );

      System.out.printf(str);
   }
}

This will produce the following result −

Output

Current Date/Time : Sat Dec 15 16:37:57 MST 2012

It would be a bit silly if you had to supply the date multiple times to format each part. For that reason, a format string can indicate the index of the argument to be formatted.

The index must immediately follow the % and it must be terminated by a $.

Example

Live Demo

import java.util.Date;
public class DateDemo {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      // Instantiate a Date object
      Date date = new Date();

      // display time and date
      System.out.printf("%1$s %2$tB %2$td, %2$tY", "Due date:", date);
   }
}

This will produce the following result −

Output

Due date: February 09, 2004

Alternatively, you can use the < flag. It indicates that the same argument as in the preceding format specification should be used again.

Example

Live Demo

import java.util.Date;
public class DateDemo {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      // Instantiate a Date object
      Date date = new Date();

      // display formatted date
      System.out.printf("%s %tB %<te, %<tY", "Due date:", date);
   }
}

This will produce the following result −

Output

Due date: February 09, 2004

Date and Time Conversion Characters