How to validate date formate YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss ?

Question

i have implemented validation for YYYY-MM-DD <br>
but how to validate for time <br>
here is the code for date validation
could you please anyone help me on this issue
<br><br><br> public static boolean validateDateFormate(String date) <br><br>
{   <br>
<br>      try {   <br>          
<br>     String dateFormat="yyyy-MM-ddYYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss";
<br>     String temp = date.substring(0,date.indexOf("-"));
<br>     if(temp.length()!= 4)
<br>          return false;           
<br>     SimpleDateFormat df=new SimpleDateFormat(dateFormat);      
<br>     Date date1=df.parse(date);
     <br>String resultDateString=df.format(date1);
     <br>System.out.println("date1"+resultDateString);
     <br> if ( !date.equals(resultDateString)) { return false;  }
<br>     } catch (Exception de) {
     <br>     System.out.println(de);
<br>          return false;
     <br>     
     <br>}
<br>     return true;
<br> }

Answer 1

A useful Data util class
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.StringTokenizer;
public final class SlacDate implements Comparable
     public final static int FormatDDMMCCYY               = 0;
     public final static int FormatMMDDCCYY               = 1;
     public final static int FormatDATETIME               = 2;
     public final static int FormatMMMDDTIME               = 3;
     public final static int FormatTIMESTAMP               = 4;
     public final static int FormatCCYYMMDD               = 5;
     public final static int FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM          = 6;
     public final static int FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS     = 7;
     public final static int FormatDDMMCCYYTIME          = 8;
     public final static int FormatDATEVERBOSE          = 9;
     public final static int FormatDATETIMEVERBOSE     = 10;
     public final static int FormatHHMMSS               = 11;
     public final static int FormatHHMMSSMIL               = 12;
     public final static int FormatDB2TIMESTAMP          = 13;
     public final static int FormatUDBTIMESTAMP          = 14;
     public final static int JANUARY          = 1;
     public final static int FEBRUARY     = 2;
     public final static int MARCH          = 3;
     public final static int APRIL          = 4;
     public final static int MAY               = 5;
     public final static int JUNE          = 6;
     public final static int JULY          = 7;
     public final static int AUGUST          = 8;
     public final static int SEPTEMBER     = 9;
     public final static int OCTOBER          = 10;
     public final static int NOVEMBER     = 11;
     public final static int DECEMBER     = 12;
     public final static int MONTHS_IN_YEAR = 12;
     public final static int SUNDAY          = 1;
     public final static int MONDAY          = 2;
     public final static int TUESDAY          = 3;
     public final static int WEDNESDAY     = 4;
     public final static int THURSDAY     = 5;
     public final static int FRIDAY          = 6;
     public final static int SATURDAY     = 7;
     public final static int DAYS_IN_WEEK = 7;
     private final static int DefaultHours   = 12;
     private final static int DefaultMinutes = 0;
     private final static int DefaultSeconds = 0;
     private final static int DefaultMillis     = 0;
     private final static int DaysInMonth[] = { 31, 28, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31 };
     private final static String MonthAbbrev[] = { "Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec" };
     private final static String MonthVerbose[] = { "January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December" };
     private final static String DaysOfWeekAbbrev[] = { "Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat" };
     private final static String DaysOfWeek[] = { "Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday" };
     private final static String DayExtension[] = { "th", "st", "nd", "rd", "th", "th", "th", "th", "th", "th" };
     private final static String EMPTY = "";
     private final static String COLON = ":";
     private final static String PERIOD = ".";
     private final static String HYPHEN = "-";
     private final static String SPACE = " ";
     private final static String ZERO  = "0";
     private static String s_dateSep = HYPHEN;
     private int m_dd, m_mm, m_yyyy, m_hh, m_min, m_ss, m_mil;
     private static long MillisInSecond     = 1000;
     private static long MillisInMinute     = MillisInSecond * 60;
     private static long MillisInHour     = MillisInMinute * 60;
     private static long MillisInDay          = MillisInHour * 24;
      * JDK_BST_FIX
      * Static initialisation block - check JDK vendor/version in order to determine whether
      * an adjustment to correctly report British summertime needs to be made. This is required
      * in order to fix a bug in some Sun & IBM JDKs. If an untested version of the Sun or IBM JDK
      * is used, we log an error message warning that this block of code should be examained and
      * changed as appropriate. This is ugly, but will prevent a new JDK being used and this bug
      * creeping back in.
      * Note the following JDKs have been tested under both NT & AIX
      *    JDK Version           NT          AIX
      *          1.1.7 (IBM)          x          x
      *          1.1.7A (IBM)               ?
      *          1.1.7B (IBM)     ?          ?
      *          1.1.8 (IBM)          x          x
      *          1.2.2 (IBM)          ok          ok
      *          1.1.7 (SUN)          x          x
      *          1.1.8 (SUN)          x          x
      *          1.2 (SUN)          x          x
     private final static String SunVendorString = "Sun Microsystems Inc.";
     private final static String IBMVendorString = "IBM"; // Can also be 'IBM Corporation'
     private final static String SunProblemJDKs[] = { "1.1.4", "1.1.5", "1.1.6", "1.1.7", "1.1.7A", "1.1.7B", "1.1.8", "1.2", "1.2.2" };
     private final static String     SunOKJDKs[] = { "1.0.2", "1.1.2", "1.1.3", "1.4.0", "1.4.2"};
     private final static String IBMProblemJDKs[] = { "1.1.4", "1.1.5", "1.1.6", "1.1.7", "1.1.7A", "1.1.8" };
     private final static String     IBMOKJDKs[] = { "1.0.2", "1.1.2", "1.1.3", "1.1.7B", "1.2.2", "1.3.0", "1.3.1" };
     private static boolean s_adjustForBST = false;
     static
          String vendor = System.getProperty("java.vendor");
          String jdk = System.getProperty("java.version");
          // Check applies to Sun only.
          if (vendor.equals(SunVendorString) || vendor.startsWith(IBMVendorString))
               String problemJDKs[] = null;
               String OKJDKs[] = null;
               if (vendor.equals(SunVendorString))
                    problemJDKs = SunProblemJDKs;
                    OKJDKs = SunOKJDKs;
               else
                    problemJDKs = IBMProblemJDKs;
                    OKJDKs = IBMOKJDKs;
               // Determine whether we need to make adjustment
               for (int i = 0; i < problemJDKs.length; i++)
                    if (problemJDKs.equals(jdk))
                         s_adjustForBST = true;
                         break;
               // If we do not need to make the adjustment then check that the
               // JDK reported is one of the versions that we know to be good.
               // If it is not log an error message.
               if (!s_adjustForBST)
                    boolean goodJDK = false;
                    for (int i = 0; i < OKJDKs.length; i++)
                         if (OKJDKs[i].equals(jdk))
                              goodJDK = true;
                              break;
/* CR176 - we now anticipate that all JDKs post 1.3.x are "good" ones
                    if (!goodJDK)
                         // We do not use the SingletonLogger mechanism since we
                         // cannot be sure that these singleton objects have been instantiated
                         // at this point, and in any case it is not desirable to introduce
                         // this dependancy into SlacDate.
                         System.err.println("JDK VERSION ERROR : Unsupported JDK - '" + jdk + "' provided by '" + vendor + "'. SlacDate class requires examination.");
     * Construct the date with todays date.
     * <p>This should be the only place where a Date object is explicitly instantiated. All
     * other code should use SlacDate. If the s_adjustForBST flag is set and the date falls
     * between the last sunday of March and the last Sunday of October (inclusive) then we need
     * to make an adjustment of +1 hour so that British Summertime is correctly reported.
     private SlacDate()
          init(Calendar.getInstance());
     * Construct the date with the specified day, month and year.
     * @param year The year to set the date to
     * @param month The month to set the date to
     * @param date The date to set the date to
     * @exception InvalidDateException Invalid date parameters passed in.
     public SlacDate(int year, int month, int date) throws InvalidDateException
          init(year, month, date, DefaultHours, DefaultMinutes, DefaultSeconds, DefaultMillis);
     * Construct the date with the specified day, month, year, hour and minute.
     * @param year The year to set the date to
     * @param month The month to set the date to
     * @param date The date to set the date to
     * @param hr The hour to set the date to
     * @param min The minute to set the date to
     * @exception InvalidDateException Invalid date parameters passed in.
     public SlacDate(int year, int month, int date, int hr, int min) throws InvalidDateException
          init(year, month, date, hr, min, DefaultSeconds, DefaultMillis);
     * Construct the date with the specified day, month, year, hour, minute and second.
     * Will default to 0 milliseconds.
     * @param year The year to set the date to
     * @param month The month to set the date to
     * @param date The date to set the date to
     * @param hr The hour to set the date to
     * @param min The minute to set the date to
     * @param sec The second to set the date to
     * @exception InvalidDateException Invalid date parameters passed in.
     public SlacDate(int year, int month, int date, int hr, int min, int sec) throws InvalidDateException
          init(year, month, date, hr, min, sec, DefaultMillis);
     * Construct the date with the specified day, month, year, hour, minute, second and milliseconds.
     * @param year The year to set the date to
     * @param month The month to set the date to
     * @param date The date to set the date to
     * @param hr The hour to set the date to
     * @param min The minute to set the date to
     * @param sec The second to set the date to
     * @param millis The milliseconds to set the date to
     * @exception InvalidDateException Invalid date parameters passed in.
     public SlacDate(int year, int month, int date, int hr, int min, int sec, int millis) throws InvalidDateException
          init(year, month, date, hr, min, sec, millis);
     * Construct the date from a timestamp.
     public SlacDate(long timestamp) throws InvalidDateException
          Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
          cal.setTime(new Date(timestamp));
          init(cal);
     * Construct the date from the specified string. Note that the date must
     * be in day/month/year format.
     * @param date The date string.
     * @exception InvalidDateException The date passed in is invalid.
     public SlacDate(String date) throws InvalidDateException
          init(date);
     * Construct the date from the specified string. The format passed in will
     * identify the format of the date.
     * @param date The date string.
     * @param format The format of the date.
     * @exception InvalidDateException The date passed in is invalid.
     public SlacDate(String date, int format) throws InvalidDateException
          if (format == FormatCCYYMMDD || format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM || format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS)
               boolean valid = false;
               date = date.trim();
               if (date.length() >= 8)
                    try
                         int year = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(0,4));
                         int month = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(4,6));
                         int day = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(6,8));
                         int hour;
                         int min;
                         int sec;
                         if (date.length() > 8)
                              hour = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(8,10));
                              min = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(10,12));
                              if (date.length() >= 14)
                                   sec = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(12,14));
                              else
                                   sec = DefaultSeconds;
                         else
                              hour = DefaultHours;
                              min = DefaultMinutes;
                              sec = DefaultSeconds;
                         init(year, month, day, hour, min, sec, DefaultMillis);
                         valid = true;
                    catch (Exception e)
               if (!valid)
                    throw new InvalidDateException("Invalid date: " + date + " for the specified format");
          else if (format == FormatDB2TIMESTAMP || format == FormatUDBTIMESTAMP)
               // 2002-02-04 10:49:30.999000 (UDB)
               // 2002-02-04-10.49.30.999000 (DB2)
               int year = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(0,4));
               int month = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(5,7));
               int day = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(8,10));
               int hour = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(11,13));
               int min = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(14,16));
               int sec = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(17,19));
               int millis = Integer.parseInt(date.substring(20,23));
               init(year, month, day, hour, min, sec, millis);
          else
               init(date);
     * Construct the date with the java.util.Date passed in.
     public SlacDate(Date date)
          init(date);
     * Init the date with the java.util.Date passed in.
     private void init(Date date)
          Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
          cal.setTime(date);
          init(cal);
     * Return whether this date is after the date passed in.
     * @d2 The date to compare against.
     * @return Whether this date is after the date passed in.
     public boolean after(SlacDate d2)
          int xx = d2.getYear();
          if (m_yyyy > xx)
               return true;
          else if (m_yyyy < xx)
               return false;
          else
               xx = d2.getMonth();
               if (m_mm > xx)
                    return true;
               else if (m_mm < xx)
                    return false;
               else
                    xx = d2.getDate();
                    if (m_dd > xx)
                         return true;
                    else if (m_dd < xx)
                         return false;
                    else
                         xx = d2.getHour();
                         if (m_hh > xx)
                              return true;
                         else if (m_hh < xx)
                              return false;
                         else
                              xx = d2.getMinute();
                              if (m_min > xx)
                                   return true;
                              else if (m_min < xx)
                                   return false;
                              else
                                   xx = d2.getSecond();
                                   if (m_ss > xx)
                                        return true;
                                   else if (m_ss < xx)
                                        return false;
                                   else
                                        return (m_mil > d2.getMillisecond());
     private void appendHoursMinutes(StringBuffer str, String separator)
          if (m_hh < 10)
               str.append(ZERO);
          str.append(Integer.toString(m_hh));
          if (!separator.equals(EMPTY))
               str.append(separator);
          if (m_min < 10)
               str.append(ZERO);
          str.append(Integer.toString(m_min));
     private void appendTime(StringBuffer str, String separator, boolean addMillis)
          appendHoursMinutes(str, separator);
          if (!separator.equals(EMPTY))
               str.append(separator);
          if (m_ss < 10)
               str.append(ZERO);
          str.append(Integer.toString(m_ss));
          if (addMillis)
               if (!separator.equals(EMPTY))
                    str.append(separator);
               if (m_mil < 100)
                    str.append(ZERO);
                    if (m_mil < 10)
                         str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(m_mil);
     * Version of the asString() method which defaults to FormatDDMMCCYY.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 25-02-1999
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in DDMMCCYY format.
     public String asString()
          return asString(FormatDDMMCCYY);
     * Convert the date to a String. This will format the Date as defined by the format
     * passed in. The default parameter is FormatDDMMCCYY.
     * The valid formats are:
     * <ul>
     * <li>FormatDDMMCCYY</li>
     * <li>FormatMMDDCCYY</li>
     * <li>FormatDATETIME</li>
     * <li>FormatDDMMTIME</li>
     * <li>FormatTIMESTAMP</li>
     * <li>FormatCCYYMMDD</li>
     * <li>FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM</li>
     * <li>FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS</li>
     * <li>FormatDDMMCCYYTIME</li>
     * <li>FormatDATEVERBOSE</li>
     * <li>FormatDATETIMEVERBOSE</li>
     * <li>FormatHHMMSS</li>
     * <li>FormatHHMMSSMIL</li>
     * <li>FormatDB2TIMESTAMP</li>
     * <li>FormatUDBTIMESTAMP</li>
     * </ul>
     * @param format The format to return the string in.
     * @return The date in string format (as specified by the format parameter).
     public String asString(int format)
          StringBuffer str = new StringBuffer(20);
          if (format == FormatDB2TIMESTAMP || format == FormatUDBTIMESTAMP)
               str.append(Integer.toString(getYear()));
               str.append(HYPHEN);
               int month = getMonth();
               if (month < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(month));
               str.append(HYPHEN);
               int day = getDate();
               if (day < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(day));
               String dateTimeSeparator = new String();
               if (format == FormatDB2TIMESTAMP)
                    dateTimeSeparator = HYPHEN;
               else if (format == FormatUDBTIMESTAMP)
                    dateTimeSeparator = SPACE;
               str.append(dateTimeSeparator);
               String timeSeparator = new String();
               if (format == FormatDB2TIMESTAMP)
                    timeSeparator = PERIOD;
               else if (format == FormatUDBTIMESTAMP)
                    timeSeparator = COLON;
               appendTime(str, timeSeparator, true);
               str.append("000");
          else if (format == FormatDATETIME || format == FormatMMMDDTIME || format == FormatTIMESTAMP)
               str.append(getMonthNameAbbrev());
               str.append(SPACE);
               if (m_dd < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_dd));
               str.append(SPACE);
               appendTime(str, COLON, false);
               if (format == FormatDATETIME)
                    str.append(SPACE);
                    str.append(Integer.toString(m_yyyy));
               else if (format == FormatTIMESTAMP)
                    str.append(COLON);
                    str.append(formattedMillis(m_mil));
          else if (format == FormatHHMMSS)
               appendTime(str, COLON, false);
          else if (format == FormatHHMMSSMIL)
               appendTime(str, COLON, true);
          else if (format == FormatCCYYMMDD || format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM || format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS)
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_yyyy));
               if (m_mm < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_mm));
               if (m_dd < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_dd));
               if (format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS)
                    appendTime(str, EMPTY, false);
               else if (format == FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM)
                    appendHoursMinutes(str, EMPTY);
          else if (format == FormatDATEVERBOSE || format == FormatDATETIMEVERBOSE)
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_dd));
               if (m_dd > 10 && m_dd < 14)
                    str.append(DayExtension[0]);
               else
                    str.append(DayExtension[m_dd%10]);
               str.append(SPACE);
               str.append(getMonthName());
               str.append(SPACE);
               str.append(Integer.toString(m_yyyy));
               if (format == FormatDATETIMEVERBOSE)
                    str.append(",");
                    str.append(SPACE);
                    appendTime(str, COLON, false);
          else
               // DDMMCCYY, MMDDCCYY, DDMMCCYYTIME
               int first;
               int second;
               if (format != FormatMMDDCCYY)
                    first = getDate();
                    second = getMonth();
               else
                    second = getDate();
                    first = getMonth();
               if (first < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(first));
               str.append(s_dateSep);
               if (second < 10)
                    str.append(ZERO);
               str.append(Integer.toString(second));
               str.append(s_dateSep);
               str.append(Integer.toString(getYear()));
               if (format == FormatDDMMCCYYTIME)
                    str.append(SPACE);
                    appendTime(str, COLON, false);
          return str.toString();
     * Return whether this date is before the date passed in
     * @d2 The date to compare against.
     * @return Whether this date is before the date passed in.
     public boolean before(SlacDate d2)
          return (!after(d2) && !equals(d2));
     * Clone the current date.
     * @return The cloned SlacDate object
     public Object clone()
          SlacDate d = new SlacDate();
          d.m_dd          = m_dd;
          d.m_mm          = m_mm;
          d.m_yyyy     = m_yyyy;
          d.m_hh          = m_hh;
          d.m_min          = m_min;
          d.m_ss          = m_ss;
          d.m_mil          = m_mil;
          return d;
     * Compare this date with the supplied date.
     * Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds are taken into consideration.
     * Returns:
     *      -1 this date is before the supplied date.
     *      0 this date is equal to the supplied date.
     *      1 this date is after the supplied date.
     public int compareTo(Object o2)
          SlacDate d2 = (SlacDate)o2;
          if (equals(d2))
               return 0;
          if (after(d2))
               return 1;
          return -1;
     * Compare this date with the supplied date.
     * Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds are NOT taken into consideration.
     * Returns:
     *      -1 this date is before the supplied date.
     *      0 this date is equal to the supplied date.
     *      1 this date is after the supplied date.
     public int compareDate(Object o2)
          SlacDate baseDate = (SlacDate)o2;
          SlacDate startBaseDate = new SlacDate(baseDate.getCalendar().getTime());
          startBaseDate.setHour(0);
          startBaseDate.setMinute(0);
          startBaseDate.setSecond(0);
          startBaseDate.setMillisecond(0);
          SlacDate endBaseDate = new SlacDate(baseDate.getCalendar().getTime());
          endBaseDate.setHour(23);
          endBaseDate.setMinute(59);
          endBaseDate.setSecond(59);
          endBaseDate.setMillisecond(999);
          int compare = 0;
          if (before(startBaseDate))
               compare = -1;
          else if (after(endBaseDate))
               compare = 1;
          return compare;
     * Compare this date with today's date.
     * Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds are NOT taken into consideration.
     * Returns:
     *      -1 this date is before today.
     *      0 this date is equal to today.
     *      1 this date is after today.
     public int compareToToday()
          return compareDate(today());
     * Calculate the difference (in days) between the two dates.
     * Note the difference may be negative.
     * @param from The <i>start</i> date
     * @param to The <i>to</i> date
     * @return The difference between the dates in days.
     public static int daysBetween(SlacDate from, SlacDate to)
          int dayFrom;
          int     monthFrom;
          int yrFrom;
          int dayTo;
          int     monthTo;
          int yrTo;
          int mult = 1;
          if (from.after(to))
               mult=-1;
               dayFrom          = to.getDate();
               monthFrom     = to.getMonth();
               yrFrom          = to.getYear();
               dayTo          = from.getDate();
               monthTo          = from.getMonth();
               yrTo          = from.getYear();
          else
               dayFrom          = from.getDate();
               monthFrom     = from.getMonth();
               yrFrom          = from.getYear();
               dayTo          = to.getDate();
               monthTo          = to.getMonth();
               yrTo          = to.getYear();
          int cnt=0;
          try
               if (yrFrom != yrTo)
                    // Different Years.
                    for (int i=yrFrom+1; i<yrTo; i++)
                         cnt += SlacDate.daysInYear(i);
                    for (int i=monthFrom+1; i<13; i++)
                         cnt+=daysInMonth(i, yrFrom);
                    for (int i=1; i<monthTo; i++)
                         cnt+=daysInMonth(i, yrTo);
                    cnt += (daysInMonth(monthFrom, yrFrom)-dayFrom);
                    cnt += dayTo;
               else
                    if (monthFrom != monthTo)
                         // Same Year but different months.
                         for (int i=monthFrom+1; i<monthTo; i++)
                              cnt+=daysInMonth(i, yrFrom);
                         cnt += (daysInMonth(monthFrom, yrFrom)-dayFrom);
                         cnt += dayTo;
                    else
                         // Same Year and month.
                         cnt += (dayTo-dayFrom);
          catch (InvalidDateException ide)
               // This should never happen
          return cnt * mult;
     * Calculate the number of days from the specified date.
     * Note the difference may be negative.
     * @param date The date to calculate from
     * @return The diference between the two dates in days (may be negative).
     public int daysFrom(SlacDate date)
          return daysBetween(date, this);
     * Calculates the number of days in a given month in a given year
     * copes with century dates!
     * @param month The month to determine the day count
     * @param year The year the month is in (only relevant for February).
     * @exception InvalidDateException Invalid parameters passed in. Ie the month was >= 12
     *                    or the month was < 0.
     public static int daysInMonth(int month, int year) throws InvalidDateException
          if (month > 12 || month <= 0)
               throw new InvalidDateException("Invalid month specified to SlacDate.daysInMonth(): " + month);
          // month-1, because DaysInMonth array is 0-based.
          return (month == FEBRUARY && isLeapYear(year)) ? 29 : DaysInMonth[month-1];
     * Calculates the number of days in a given year.
     * @param year The year the month is in (only relevant for February).
     public static int daysInYear(int year)
          return (isLeapYear(year)) ? 365 : 364;
     * Calculate the number of days to the specified date.
     * Note the difference may be negative.
     * @param date The date to calculate to
     * @return The diference between the two dates in days (may be negative).
     public int daysTo(SlacDate date)
          return daysBetween(this, date);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of years, months and days.
     * @param years The number of years to increment by
     * @param months The number of months to increment by
     * @param days The number of days to increment by
     public void decrement(int years, int months, int days)
          decrementYears(years);
          decrementMonths(months);
          decrementDays(days);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of days.
     * @param days The number of days to decrement by
     public void decrementDays(int days)
          incrementDays(days * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of hours.
     * @param hours The number of hours to decrement by
     public void decrementHours(int hours)
          incrementHours(hours * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of milliseconds.
     * @param seconds The number of seconds to decrement by
     public void decrementMilliseconds(int milliseconds)
          incrementMilliseconds(milliseconds * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of minutes.
     * @param minutes The number of minutes to decrement by
     public void decrementMinutes(int minutes)
          incrementMinutes(minutes * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of months.
     * @param years The number of months to decrement by
     public void decrementMonths(int months)
          incrementMonths(months * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of seconds.
     * @param seconds The number of seconds to decrement by
     public void decrementSeconds(int seconds)
          incrementSeconds(seconds * -1);
     * Decrement the date by the specified number of years.
     * @param years The number of years to decrement by
     public void decrementYears(int years)
          incrementYears(years * -1);
     * Calculate the difference between two dates to the nearest second as a String.
     * @param from The start date
     * @param to The end date
     public static String differenceBetween(SlacDate from, SlacDate to)
          SlacDate f, t;
          if (from.after(to))
               t = from;
               f = to;
          else
               t = to;
               f = from;
          int secs = 0;
          int mins = 0;
          int hours = 0;
          int days = 0;
          int months = 0;
          int years = 0;
          secs     = t.getSecond() - f.getSecond();
          mins     = t.getMinute() - f.getMinute();
          hours     = t.getHour() - f.getHour();
          days     = t.getDate() - f.getDate();
          months     = t.getMonth() - f.getMonth();
          years     = t.getYear() - f.getYear();
          if (secs < 0)
               secs += 60;
               mins--;
          if (mins < 0)
               mins += 60;
               hours--;
          if (hours < 0)
               hours += 24;
               days--;
          if (days < 0)
               try
                    days += daysInMonth(f.getMonth(), f.getYear());
               catch (InvalidDateException ide)
                    days += 30;
               months--;
          if (months < 0)
               months += 12;
               years--;
          StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
          sb.append(years).append(s_dateSep);
          sb.append(months).append(s_dateSep);
          sb.append(days).append(SPACE);
          sb.append(hours).append(COLON);
          sb.append(mins).append(COLON);
          sb.append(secs);
          return sb.toString();
     * Calculate the difference between the date passed in and this date.
     * Note that if the date passed in is in the future the difference will be
     * negative.
     * @param from The date from which to return the difference
     * @return The difference from the date passed in in String format
     public String differenceFrom(SlacDate from)
          return differenceBetween(from, this);
     * Calculate the difference between this date and the one passed in.
     * Note that if the date passed in is in the past the difference will be
     * negative.
     * @param to The date to which to return the difference
     * @return The difference to the date passed in in String format
     public String differenceTo(SlacDate to)
          return differenceBetween(this, to);
     * Return whether the two dates are the same. This will check right down to the second.
     * @param d2 The date to compare against
     * @return Whether the dates are the same.
     public boolean equals(SlacDate d2)
          return ((m_yyyy == d2.m_yyyy) &&
                    (m_mm == d2.m_mm) &&
                    (m_dd == d2.m_dd) &&
                    (m_hh == d2.m_hh) &&
                    (m_min == d2.m_min) &&
                    (m_ss == d2.m_ss) &&
                    (m_mil == d2.m_mil));
     public String format(DateFormat df)
          Calendar cal = getCalendar();
          return df.format(cal.getTime());
     private final String formattedMillis(int millis)
          String rString = null;
          if (millis < 10)
               rString = "00" + millis;
          else if (millis < 100)
               rString = ZERO + millis;
          else
               rString = EMPTY + millis;
          return rString;
     public Calendar getCalendar()
          Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
          cal.set(m_yyyy, m_mm-1, m_dd, m_hh, m_min, m_ss);
          cal.set(Calendar.MILLISECOND, m_mil);
          return cal;
     * Return the Date/Time in CCYYMMDD format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 19990225
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in CCYYMMDD format.
     public String getCCYYMMDD()
          return asString(FormatCCYYMMDD);
     * Return the Date/Time in CCYYMMDDHHMM format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 199902251423
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in CCYYMMDDHHMM format.
     public String getCCYYMMDDHHMM()
          return asString(FormatCCYYMMDDHHMM);
     * Return the Date/Time in CCYYMMDDHHMMSS format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 19990225142356
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in CCYYMMDDHHMMSS format.
     public String getCCYYMMDDHHMMSS()
          return asString(FormatCCYYMMDDHHMMSS);
     public int getDate()     { return m_dd; }
     * Return the date in DATETIME format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * Feb 25 14:21:09 1999
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in DATETIME format.
     public String getDATETIME()
          return asString(FormatDATETIME);
     * Return the Date/Time in DATETIMEVERBOSE format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 25th February 1999, 14:21:09
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in DATETIMEVERBOSE format.
     public String getDATETIMEVERBOSE()
          return asString(FormatDATETIMEVERBOSE);
     * Return the Date/Time in DATEVERBOSE format.
     * <p>An example date in this format is:
     * <pre>
     * 25th February 1999
     * </pre>
     * @return The Date as a string in DATEVERBOSE format.
     public String getDATEVERBOSE()
          return asString(FormatDATEVERBOSE);
     * Return the day o