Datecomparator

Question

In the below comparator is not working?
p1.getDate() this one returns a String format like 12241998 and i converted into dateformat after that i compared?but its not working plz help me?is possible to compare the dates Using compareTo method?
if there is any wrong in this code plz help me?
public class dateComparator implements Comparator {
     public int compare(Object o1, Object o2) {
          Person p1 = (Person) o1;
          Person p2 = (Person) o2;
          String newDate1;
String newDate2;
newDate1 = convertStringToDate(p1.getDate());
newDate2 = convertStringToDate(p1.getDate());
System.out.println((-1)*newDate1.compareTo(newDate2));
return newDate1.compareTo(newDate2);
     public static String convertStringToDate(String date) {
          String billCycleEDate= null;
          SimpleDateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("MMddyyyy");
          SimpleDateFormat df1 = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy");
          Date endDate;
          try {
               endDate = df.parse(date);
               billCycleEDate = df1.format(endDate);
               System.out.println(billCycleEDate);
               return billCycleEDate;
          } catch (ParseException e) {
               // TODO Auto-generated catch block
               e.printStackTrace();
          return billCycleEDate;
}

Answer 1

1) When you post code, please use[code] and [/code] tags as described in Formatting tips on the message entry page. It makes it much easier to read.
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2) Define "doesn't work."