Parsing date and running into a 'static reference to the non-static method' Error in java

Question

I have a line in my main like so:

Date gameDate = DateFormat.parse(scanner.nextLine());

Essentially I want to scan in a date with util.Scanner

Which hits the error:

Cannot make a static reference to the non-static method parse(String) from the type DateFormat

Now, I've looked in to this error, but it doesn't seem as clear cut as this example.

How do I get round this?

`DateFormat.getDateInstance().parse(scanner.nextLine())`. But in all probability you'll need to specify the format. — Marko Topolnik, Jul 10 '12 at 12:04
Well, you need **some** instance of `DateFormat` or its subclass. I gave you an example that gets you an instance with the least code. Adapt it to your needs. For example, you'll get all you need with a `SimpleDateFormat`. Check out the Javadoc. — Marko Topolnik, Jul 10 '12 at 12:13
@MarkoTopolnik, Ah, I beleive my error was in thinking the *Format* in `DateFormat` was a verb, not a noun; I thought it was some sort of method, not a class. — AncientSwordRage, Jul 10 '12 at 12:25
I am astonished that 2 hours later still nobody (myself included) has raised the issue of using Joda-Time — Brian Agnew, Jul 10 '12 at 15:01

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:07

parse() is not a static method. It's an instance method. You need to create a DateFormat instance, and then call parse() on this instance:

DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");
Date gameDate = dateFormat.parse(scanner.nextLine());

A static method belongs to a class. It doesn't make sense to call Person.getName(). But it makes sense to call

Person pureferret = new Person("Pureferret");
String name = pureferret.getName();

Eng.Fouad · Answer 2 · 2012-07-10T12:11:51.927

2

As mentioned in the API Documentation:

DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance();
myDate = df.parse(myString);

edited Jul 10 '12 at 12:11

answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:04

Eng.Fouad

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@Marko an abstract (non-instantiable) class can still have static (class-level) methods – Noel M Jul 10 '12 at 12:06

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:10

You have to create an instance of DateFormat in order to call "parse". Only static methods can be called without istantiating an instance of the specified class. You can get an instance with the default DateFormat calling:

DateFormat.getInstance()

then you can call

DateFormat.getInstance().parse()

or you can define your own DateFormat using for example a subclass of DateFormat, as SimpleDateFormat.

DateFormat myFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");
myFormat.parse(myString);

Check here how you can customize it:

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:05

1

DateFormat is an abstract class that needs a concrete instantiation.

e.g.

   DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat(...);

Check out this example to see how to use it.

answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:05

Brian Agnew

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score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 15 '12 at 03:09

1

You can try this code:

String format = "yyyy-MM-dd"; // put proper format here
Date gameDate = new SimpleDateFormat(format).parse(scanner.nextLine());

edited Jul 15 '12 at 03:09

Danilo Valente

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answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:07

Erich Schreiner

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:10

The method parse of the class DateFormat is not static. You must instantiate a DateFormat object first before you can call it's parse method.

You also must configure the "rules" of your date format so the parser knows what and how to parse.

See SimpleDateFormat class: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html

Parsing date and running into a 'static reference to the non-static method' Error in java

6 Answers6