How do u change a string to a Date object??

Question

im using GregorianCalendar rite now to get dates..
n i got 2 dates - one is current date, the other is another date(How do i say this?? hmm.... ok, my birthday).
i had put them into "strings"
but i gotta check which date came 1st.(current, or my birthday)
i have found the method in Date.class, but before using the method, i gotta change the String to Date..
this is where i got stuck..
plz give me any info - codes, links, url, any things that helps..
Thz people..

Answer 1

SOrry for replying late..
i did catch the exception, n print out
catch(Exception e)
System.out.println(e); --> this is where it print out the error msg.
hmm, i tried to use the SimpleDateFormat class, as in in this link
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=345037
the error shown up again, n with ("01/jan/2003");
i wanted it to be in all numbers like ("01/01/2003");
i think im confusing all of u now, coz i aint really good at explaining...
but here parts of my codes..
//edited code ---> using SimpleDateFOrmat
Date d1 = new Date();
Date d2 = new Date();
DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
d1 = df.parse(appDate); //appDate="01/01/2003"
d2 = df.parse(date); //date ="23/05/2003"
}catch(ParseException a){System.out.println(a);}
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//error msg
error: java.text.ParseException: Unparseable date: "(01/jan/2003)";
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//this is the orignal one
Date d1 = new Date();
Date d2 = new Date();
DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance();
d1 = df.parse(appDate); //appDate="01/01/2003"
d2 = df.parse(date); //date ="23/05/2003"
}catch(ParseException a){System.out.println(a);}
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//error msg
error: java.text.ParseException: Unparseable date: "(01/01/2003)";
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hope someone out there knows what actually gone wrong..
n For those who reply or replied.. ThanK YOU!!!