* This method uses the same formatting instructions as * {@link SimpleDateFormat}: *
* Symbol Meaning Presentation Example
* ------ ------- ------------ -------
* G era designator (Text) AD
* y year (Number) 1996
* M month in year (Text & Number) July & 07
* d day in month (Number) 10
* h hour in am/pm (1~12) (Number) 12
* H hour in day (0~23) (Number) 0
* m minute in hour (Number) 30
* s second in minute (Number) 55
* S millisecond (Number) 978
* E day in week (Text) Tuesday
* D day in year (Number) 189
* F day of week in month (Number) 2 (2nd Wed in July)
* w week in year (Number) 27
* W week in month (Number) 2
* a am/pm marker (Text) PM
* k hour in day (1~24) (Number) 24
* K hour in am/pm (0~11) (Number) 0
* z time zone (Text) Pacific Standard Time
* ' escape for text (Delimiter)
* '' single quote (Literal) '
*
* Examples: "E, MMMM d" will result in "Tue, July 24"
* "EEE, M-d (H:m)" will result in "Tuesday, 7-24 (14:12)"
*
*
* @param format the formatting instructions
* @param obj the date to format
* @return a formatted string representing the specified date or
* null if the parameters are invalid
*/
public String format(String format, Object obj)
{
Date date = toDate(obj);
if (date == null || format == null)
{
return null;
}
SimpleDateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat(format, this.locale);
return formatter.format(date);
}
/**
* Returns a formatted string representing the specified date and locale
*
* This method uses the same formatting instructions as
* {@link SimpleDateFormat}:
*
* @param format the formatting instructions
* @param obj the date to format
* @param locale the {@link Locale} to format the date for
* @return a formatted string representing the specified date or
* null if the parameters are invalid
* @see #format
*/
public String format(String format, Object obj, Locale locale)
{
Date date = toDate(obj);
if (date == null || format == null || locale == null)
{
return null;
}
SimpleDateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat(format, locale);
return formatter.format(date);
}
//---------------- static conversion methods -----------------------//
/**
* Returns a Date object representing the specified date.
*
* @param obj the date to convert
* @return the converted date
*/
public static Date toDate(Object obj)
{
if (obj == null)
{
return null;
}
if (obj instanceof Date)
{
return (Date)obj;
}
if (obj instanceof Calendar)
{
return ((Calendar)obj).getTime();
}
try
{
//try treating obj as a string and parsing it
DateFormat format = DateFormat.getInstance();
return format.parse(String.valueOf(obj));
}
catch (Exception e)
{
return null;
}
}
/**
* Returns a Calendar object representing the specified date.
*
* @param obj the date to convert
* @return the converted date
*/
public static Calendar toCalendar(Object obj)
{
if (obj == null)
{
return null;
}
if (obj instanceof Calendar)
{
return (Calendar)obj;
}
//try to get a date out of it
Date date = toDate(obj);
if (date == null)
{
return null;
}
//convert the date to a calendar
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.setTime(date);
//Force fields to update.
cal.getTime();
return cal;
}
}