how can i compare two simpledateformat types in java with the following spec "dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss a"

Question

Hi i have two strings created from the simpleDateFormat type in java. They are as follows:

"dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss a"

How can i compare two strings that have that format and know which is the latest?

why to create string and compare, where you can directly compare them in `Date` — jmj, Apr 22 '14 at 16:58
they are simpleDateFormat not Date but if you know how to do it with Date please tell me how — JoaoFilipeClementeMartins, Apr 22 '14 at 16:59
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/Date.html#after%28java.util.Date%29 — jmj, Apr 22 '14 at 17:00
Note: In Java 8 there's a new class `java.time.format.DateFormatter` that I think is supposed to supplant all the previous `Calendar` and `Date` stuff. However, I don't yet know how to use it. — ajb, Apr 22 '14 at 17:08

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

3

Follow these steps:

Convert the 2 Strings to Date objects using the SimpleDateFormat. For more details on the conversion, you can refer this post.
Example: Date date = new SimpleDateFormat(yourFormat).parse(dateString);
Now compare the 2 Date objects using the Date#after() method.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Community

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answered Apr 22 '14 at 16:59

Rahul

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 22 '14 at 17:07

You would want to convert the strings back into a Date object like so:

        SimpleDateFormat defaultDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat"dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss a", Locale.getDefault());
        Date myDate;
        try {
            myDate = defaultDateFormat.parse("insert your date/time string here");
        } catch (ParseException e) {
            ...
        }

and then use

myDate.compareTo(myOtherDate)

to figure out which date is greater. the compareTo() method returns a -1,0, or 1 depending on which date is the latest.

how can i compare two simpledateformat types in java with the following spec "dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss a"

2 Answers2