How to Accept Date in Java?

Java is a programming language that is frequently employed for creating a wide range of applications. Accepting user input is one of the most frequent jobs in any programme. In this section, we will discuss how to accept dates in Java.

A fundamental data type in every programming language is the date. In a variety of formats, they are used to express time and date information. Many built-in classes and libraries are available in Java that can be used to interact with dates.

Java has a number of methods for accepting dates. The most popular techniques will be covered in this article.

By Using the Scanner Class

In Java, the Scanner class is a helpful resource for receiving user input. It may read data from files, the keyboard, or other input devices. You can do the following actions to accept a date that use the Scanner class:

Step 1: Create an instance of the Scanner class.

Step 2: Prompt the user to enter a date.

Step 3: Read the input using the next() method of the Scanner class.

Step 4: Parse the input string into a Date object using the SimpleDateFormat class.

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
Date date = sdf.parse(dateStr);

The dd/mm/yyyy format of a date will be accepted by the snippet of code above. A ParseException will be thrown by the code if the user has entered an invalid date. You can include the parser code inside a try-catch block to handle this exception.

Using the LocalDate Class

The Java 8 Date-Time API includes the LocalDate class. The symbol stands for a date without the need for a time zone. The steps below can be used to accept a date that use the LocalDate class:

Step 1: Create an instance of the Scanner class.

Step 2: Prompt the user to enter a date.

Step 3: Read the input using the next() method of the Scanner class.

Step 4: Parse the input string into a LocalDate object using the DateTimeFormatter class.

DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy");
LocalDate date = LocalDate.parse(dateStr, formatter);

The dd/mm/yyyy format of a date will be accepted by the snippet of code above. A DateTimeParseException will be thrown by the code if the user has entered an invalid date. You can include the parsing code inside a try-catch block to handle this exception.

Using the JDatePicker Library

The Java library JDatePicker offers a graphical user interface for choosing dates. You may utilise the JDatePicker library by doing the following:

Step 1: Download and import the JDatePicker library into your project.

Step 2: Create an instance of the JDatePicker class.

Step 3: Add the JDatePicker to your user interface.

JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.getContentPane().add(datePicker);

Step 4: Get the selected date from the JDatePicker using the getDate() method.

Your user interface will show a date picker if you utilise the bit of code above. With the date picker, the user can choose a date, and the chosen date would be returned as just a Date object.

The article covered several methods for accepting dates in Java. We discussed the JDatePicker library, the LocalDate class, and the Scanner class. You can select the approach that works best for you based on the specifications of your application.

To make sure that a user has supplied a legitimate date while accepting dates, it is crucial to check the input. You must also manage

Here is a programme that serves as an example of how to use Java's Scanner class to accept dates:

DateInputExample.java

import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Scanner;
public class DateInputExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
        // Prompt the user to enter a date
        System.out.print("Enter a date (dd/mm/yyyy): ");
        // Read the input using the next() method
        String dateStr = sc.next();
        // Parse the input string into a Date object using SimpleDateFormat
        SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
        try {
            Date date = sdf.parse(dateStr);
            System.out.println("Input date: " + sdf.format(date));
        } catch (ParseException e) {
            System.out.println("Invalid date format");
        }
        sc.close();
    }
}

Input:

Enter a date (dd/mm/yyyy): 20/04/2023
Input date: 20/04/2023

Output:

Enter a date (dd/mm/yyyy): 20-04-2023
Invalid date format

The SimpleDateFormat class is used to parse the input string into a Date object. The application will output the input date using the format() function of the SimpleDateFormat class if the input string is formatted correctly. An error message will be displayed by the software if the input string is formatted improperly.

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