How to Parse a Date String with Abbreviated Day and Month Names in Java?

Parsing Date Strings into Date Objects

Parsing date strings into Date objects is a common task in programming. However, using the wrong pattern can lead to exceptions.

Problem

The following code snippet attempts to parse the date string "Thu Sep 28 20:29:30 JST 2000" into a Date object:

String target = "Thu Sep 28 20:29:30 JST 2000";
DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("E MM dd kk:mm:ss z yyyy");
Date result = df.parse(target);

However, this code throws an exception:

java.text.ParseException: Unparseable date: "Thu Sep 28 20:29:30 JST 2000"

Solution

The problem lies in the date format pattern. The pattern "E MM dd kk:mm:ss z yyyy" uses the following abbreviations:

• E for 3-letter day abbreviation
• MM for 3-letter month abbreviation

However, in the provided date string, the day and month abbreviations are not 3 characters long. To fix this, use the following pattern:

DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd kk:mm:ss z yyyy", Locale.ENGLISH);

This pattern specifies:

• EEE for 3-letter day abbreviation in English
• MMM for 3-letter month abbreviation in English

Additional Considerations

Consider using "HH" instead of "kk" for hour of day representation. Refer to the Java documentation for more information on date formatting patterns.

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