DateFormat (ICU4J 76)

java.lang.Object
- java.text.Format
- - com.ibm.icu.text.UFormat
  - - com.ibm.icu.text.DateFormat

All Implemented Interfaces:

Serializable, Cloneable

Direct Known Subclasses:

SimpleDateFormat
```
public abstract class DateFormat
extends UFormat
```
[icu enhancement] ICU's replacement for java.text.DateFormat. Methods, fields, and other functionality specific to ICU are labeled '[icu]'.

DateFormat is an abstract class for date/time formatting subclasses which formats and parses dates or time in a language-independent manner. The date/time formatting subclass, such as SimpleDateFormat, allows for formatting (i.e., date -> text), parsing (text -> date), and normalization. The date is represented as a Date object or as the milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.
DateFormat helps you to format and parse dates for any locale. Your code can be completely independent of the locale conventions for months, days of the week, or even the calendar format: lunar vs. solar. It provides many class methods for obtaining default date/time formatters based on the default for a given locale and a number of formatting styles or arbitrary "skeletons".
1. The formatting styles include FULL, LONG, MEDIUM, and SHORT. More detail and examples of using these styles are provided in the method descriptions.
2. The formatting styles only cover a fraction of the necessary usage. You often need to have just certain combinations of fields, like Month and Year, but have it to be formatted appropriate to a given locale. This is done using the (misnamed) getPatternInstance() method, supplying a skeleton. There are a number of constants that have common pre-defined skeletons, such as MINUTE_SECOND for something like "13:45" or YEAR_ABBR_MONTH for something like "Sept 2012".
To format a date for the current Locale, use one of the static factory methods:
```
 myString = DateFormat.getDateInstance().format(myDate);
 myString = DateFormat.getPatternInstance(DateFormat.YEAR_ABBR_MONTH).format(myDate);
 
```
If you are formatting multiple numbers, it is more efficient to get the format and use it multiple times so that the system doesn't have to fetch the information about the local language and country conventions multiple times.
```
 DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance();
 for (int i = 0; i < a.length; ++i) {
     output.println(df.format(myDate[i]) + "; ");
 }
 
```
To format a date for a different Locale, specify it in the call to getDateInstance().
```
 DateFormat df = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.LONG, Locale.FRANCE);
 
```
You can use a DateFormat to parse also.
```
 myDate = df.parse(myString);
 
```
There are many static factory methods available. Use getDateInstance to get the normal date format for that country. Use getTimeInstance to get the time format for that country. Use getDateTimeInstance to get a date and time format. You can pass in different options to these factory methods to control the length of the result; from SHORT to MEDIUM to LONG to FULL. The exact result depends on the locale, but generally:
- SHORT is completely numeric, such as 12.13.52 or 3:30pm
- MEDIUM is longer, such as Jan 12, 1952
- LONG is longer, such as January 12, 1952 or 3:30:32pm
- FULL is pretty completely specified, such as Tuesday, April 12, 1952 AD or 3:30:42pm PST.
Use getPatternInstance to format with a skeleton. Typically this is with a predefined skeleton, like YEAR_ABBR_MONTH for something like "Sept 2012". If you don't want to use one of the predefined skeletons, you can supply your own. The skeletons are like the patterns in SimpleDateFormat, except they:
1. only keep the field pattern letter and ignore all other parts in a pattern, such as space, punctuation, and string literals.
2. are independent of the order of fields.
3. ignore certain differences in the field's pattern letter length:
  1. For those non-digit calendar fields, the pattern letter length is important, such as MMM, MMMM, and MMMMM; E and EEEE, and the field's pattern letter length is honored.
  2. For the digit calendar fields, such as M or MM, d or dd, yy or yyyy, the field pattern length is ignored and the best match, which is defined in date time patterns, will be returned without honor the field pattern letter length in skeleton.
You can also set the time zone on the format if you wish. If you want even more control over the format or parsing, (or want to give your users more control), you can try casting the DateFormat you get from the factory methods to a SimpleDateFormat. This will work for the majority of countries; just remember to put it in a try block in case you encounter an unusual one.
You can also use forms of the parse and format methods with ParsePosition and FieldPosition to allow you to
- progressively parse through pieces of a string.
- align any particular field, or find out where it is for selection on the screen.
Synchronization
Date formats are not synchronized. It is recommended to create separate format instances for each thread. If multiple threads access a format concurrently, it must be synchronized externally.
Author:

Mark Davis, Chen-Lieh Huang, Alan Liu

See Also:

UFormat, NumberFormat, SimpleDateFormat, Calendar, GregorianCalendar, TimeZone, Serialized Form

Status:
Stable ICU 2.0.

Nested Class Summary

Nested Classes
Modifier and Type	Class and Description
`static class`	`DateFormat.BooleanAttribute` boolean attributes
`static class`	`DateFormat.Field` The instances of this inner class are used as attribute keys and values in AttributedCharacterIterator that DateFormat.formatToCharacterIterator() method returns.
`static class`	`DateFormat.HourCycle` Hour Cycle

Nested classes/interfaces inherited from class com.ibm.icu.text.UFormat
UFormat.SpanField

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type	Field and Description
`static String`	`ABBR_GENERIC_TZ` [icu] Constant for generic non-location format, abbreviated if possible, such as PT; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static String`	`ABBR_MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month.
`static String`	`ABBR_MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month and day.
`static String`	`ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month, weekday, and day.
`static String`	`ABBR_QUARTER` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated quarter.
`static String`	`ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ` [icu] Constant for specific non-location format, abbreviated if possible, such as PDT; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static String`	`ABBR_STANDALONE_MONTH` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use `ABBR_MONTH` instead.
`static String`	`ABBR_UTC_TZ` [icu] Constant for localized GMT/UTC format, such as GMT+8:00 or HPG-8:00; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static String`	`ABBR_WEEKDAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated weekday.
`static int`	`AM_PM_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'a' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.AM_PM` field.
`static int`	`AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'b' field alignment.
`protected Calendar`	`calendar` The calendar that `DateFormat` uses to produce the time field values needed to implement date and time formatting.
`static int`	`DATE_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'd' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DATE` field.
`static List<String>`	`DATE_SKELETONS` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static String`	`DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with day.
`static int`	`DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'E' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK` field.
`static int`	`DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'F' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH` field.
`static int`	`DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'D' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DAY_OF_YEAR` field.
`static int`	`DEFAULT` Constant for default style pattern.
`static int`	`DOW_LOCAL_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'e' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DOW_LOCAL` field.
`static int`	`ERA_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'G' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ERA` field.
`static int`	`EXTENDED_YEAR_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'u' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.EXTENDED_YEAR` field.
`static int`	`FIELD_COUNT` Deprecated. ICU 58 The numeric value may change over time, see ICU ticket #12420.
`static int`	`FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'B' field alignment.
`static int`	`FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'S' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MILLISECOND` field.
`static int`	`FULL` Constant for full style pattern.
`static String`	`GENERIC_TZ` [icu] Constant for generic non-location format, such as Pacific Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static String`	`HOUR` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24).
`static String`	`HOUR_GENERIC_TZ` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead `HOUR`+`ABBR_GENERIC_TZ` or some other timezone presentation.
`static String`	`HOUR_MINUTE` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24).
`static String`	`HOUR_MINUTE_GENERIC_TZ` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead `HOUR_MINUTE`+`ABBR_GENERIC_TZ` or some other timezone presentation.
`static String`	`HOUR_MINUTE_SECOND` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24).
`static String`	`HOUR_MINUTE_TZ` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead `HOUR_MINUTE`+`ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ` or some other timezone presentation.
`static int`	`HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'H' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY` field.
`static int`	`HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'k' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY` field.
`static String`	`HOUR_TZ` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead `HOUR`+`ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ` or some other timezone presentation.
`static int`	`HOUR0_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'K' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.HOUR` field.
`static int`	`HOUR1_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'h' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.HOUR` field.
`static String`	`HOUR24` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour in 24-hour presentation.
`static String`	`HOUR24_MINUTE` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute in 24-hour presentation.
`static String`	`HOUR24_MINUTE_SECOND` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second in 24-hour presentation.
`static String`	`JP_ERA_2019_JA` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static String`	`JP_ERA_2019_NARROW` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static String`	`JP_ERA_2019_ROOT` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static int`	`JULIAN_DAY_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'g' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.JULIAN_DAY` field.
`static String`	`LOCATION_TZ` [icu] Constant for generic location format, such as Los Angeles Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static int`	`LONG` Constant for long style pattern.
`static int`	`MEDIUM` Constant for medium style pattern.
`static int`	`MILLISECOND_FIELD` Alias for FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD.
`static int`	`MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'A' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY` field.
`static String`	`MINUTE` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with minute.
`static int`	`MINUTE_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'm' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MINUTE` field.
`static String`	`MINUTE_SECOND` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with minute and second.
`static String`	`MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with month.
`static String`	`MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with long month and day.
`static int`	`MONTH_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'M' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MONTH` field.
`static String`	`MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with month, weekday, and day.
`static int`	`NONE` [icu] Constant for empty style pattern.
`static String`	`NUM_MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month.
`static String`	`NUM_MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month and day.
`static String`	`NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month, weekday, and day.
`protected NumberFormat`	`numberFormat` The number formatter that `DateFormat` uses to format numbers in dates and times.
`static String`	`QUARTER` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with quarter.
`static int`	`QUARTER_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Q' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MONTH` field.
`static int`	`RELATIVE` [icu] Constant for relative style mask.
`static int`	`RELATIVE_DEFAULT` [icu] Constant for relative default style pattern.
`static int`	`RELATIVE_FULL` [icu] Constant for relative full style pattern.
`static int`	`RELATIVE_LONG` [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
`static int`	`RELATIVE_MEDIUM` [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
`static int`	`RELATIVE_SHORT` [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
`static String`	`SECOND` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with second.
`static int`	`SECOND_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 's' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.SECOND` field.
`static int`	`SHORT` Constant for short style pattern.
`static String`	`SPECIFIC_TZ` [icu] Constant for specific non-location format, such as Pacific Daylight Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
`static int`	`STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'c' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK` field.
`static String`	`STANDALONE_MONTH` Deprecated. ICU 50 Use `MONTH` instead.
`static int`	`STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'L' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MONTH` field.
`static int`	`STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'q' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.MONTH` field.
`static int`	`TIME_SEPARATOR` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static List<String>`	`TIME_SKELETONS` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'z' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_GENERIC_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'v' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_ISO_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'X' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_ISO_LOCAL_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'x' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_LOCALIZED_GMT_OFFSET_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'O' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_RFC_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Z' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'V' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET` and `Calendar.DST_OFFSET` fields.
`static int`	`WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'W' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.WEEK_OF_MONTH` field.
`static int`	`WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'w' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.WEEK_OF_YEAR` field.
`static String`	`WEEKDAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with weekday.
`static String`	`YEAR` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year.
`static String`	`YEAR_ABBR_MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated month.
`static String`	`YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, and day.
`static String`	`YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, weekday, and day.
`static String`	`YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated quarter.
`static int`	`YEAR_FIELD` FieldPosition selector for 'y' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.YEAR` field.
`static String`	`YEAR_MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and month.
`static String`	`YEAR_MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, month, and day.
`static String`	`YEAR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, month, weekday, and day.
`static int`	`YEAR_NAME_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'U' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.YEAR` field.
`static String`	`YEAR_NUM_MONTH` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and numeric month.
`static String`	`YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, and day.
`static String`	`YEAR_NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, weekday, and day.
`static String`	`YEAR_QUARTER` [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and quarter.
`static int`	`YEAR_WOY_FIELD` [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Y' field alignment, corresponding to the `Calendar.YEAR_WOY` field.
`static List<String>`	`ZONE_SKELETONS` Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.

Constructor Summary

Constructors
Modifier Constructor and Description

protected DateFormat()
Creates a new date format.

Constructors
Modifier	Constructor and Description
`protected`	`DateFormat()` Creates a new date format.

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Concrete Methods
Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`Object`	`clone()` Overrides clone.
`boolean`	`equals(Object obj)` Overrides equals.
`abstract StringBuffer`	`format(Calendar cal, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)` Formats a date into a date/time string.
`String`	`format(Date date)` Formats a Date into a date/time string.
`StringBuffer`	`format(Date date, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)` Formats a Date into a date/time string.
`StringBuffer`	`format(Object obj, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)` Formats a time object into a time string.
`String`	`format(Temporal date)` Formats a `Temporal` into a date/time string.
`StringBuffer`	`format(Temporal date, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition fieldPosition)` Formats a `Temporal` into a date/time string.
`static Locale[]`	`getAvailableLocales()` Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
`static ULocale[]`	`getAvailableULocales()` [icu] Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
`boolean`	`getBooleanAttribute(DateFormat.BooleanAttribute key)` Returns the current value for the specified BooleanAttribute for this instance if attribute is missing false is returned.
`Calendar`	`getCalendar()` Returns the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
`DisplayContext`	`getContext(DisplayContext.Type type)` [icu] Get the formatter's DisplayContext value for the specified DisplayContext.Type, such as CAPITALIZATION.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance()` Returns the date formatter with the default formatting style for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle)` Creates a `DateFormat` object for the default locale that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle, Locale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle, ULocale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(int style)` Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)` Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateInstance(int style, ULocale locale)` Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance()` Returns the date/time formatter with the default formatting style for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle, int timeStyle)` Creates a `DateFormat` object for the default locale that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int dateStyle, int timeStyle, ULocale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle)` Returns the date/time formatter with the given date and time formatting styles for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, Locale aLocale)` Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle, int timeStyle, ULocale locale)` Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstance()` Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstance(Calendar cal)` Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstance(Calendar cal, Locale locale)` Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstance(Calendar cal, ULocale locale)` Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstanceForSkeleton(Calendar cal, String skeleton, Locale locale)` [icu] Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstanceForSkeleton(Calendar cal, String skeleton, ULocale locale)` [icu] Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton, Locale locale)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton, ULocale locale)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
`NumberFormat`	`getNumberFormat()` Returns the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses to format and parse a time.
`static DateFormat`	`getPatternInstance(Calendar cal, String skeleton, Locale locale)` [icu] Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getPatternInstance(Calendar cal, String skeleton, ULocale locale)` [icu] Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getPatternInstance(String skeleton)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getPatternInstance(String skeleton, Locale locale)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getPatternInstance(String skeleton, ULocale locale)` [icu] Returns a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance()` Gets the time formatter with the default formatting style for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int timeStyle)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int timeStyle, Locale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(Calendar cal, int timeStyle, ULocale locale)` Creates a `DateFormat` object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by `cal`.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(int style)` Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the default `FORMAT` locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(int style, Locale aLocale)` Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
`static DateFormat`	`getTimeInstance(int style, ULocale locale)` Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
`TimeZone`	`getTimeZone()` Returns the time zone.
`int`	`hashCode()` Overrides hashCode.
`boolean`	`isCalendarLenient()` Returns whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object is lenient.
`boolean`	`isLenient()` Returns whether both date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object and DateFormat whitespace & numeric processing is lenient.
`Date`	`parse(String text)` Parses a date/time string.
`abstract void`	`parse(String text, Calendar cal, ParsePosition pos)` Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position.
`Date`	`parse(String text, ParsePosition pos)` Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position.
`Object`	`parseObject(String source, ParsePosition pos)` Parses a date/time string into an Object.
`DateFormat`	`setBooleanAttribute(DateFormat.BooleanAttribute key, boolean value)` Sets a boolean attribute for this instance.
`void`	`setCalendar(Calendar newCalendar)` Sets the calendar to be used by this date format.
`void`	`setCalendarLenient(boolean lenient)` Specifies whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object should be lenient.
`void`	`setContext(DisplayContext context)` [icu] Set a particular DisplayContext value in the formatter, such as CAPITALIZATION_FOR_STANDALONE.
`void`	`setLenient(boolean lenient)` Specifies whether date/time parsing is to be lenient.
`void`	`setNumberFormat(NumberFormat newNumberFormat)` Sets the number formatter.
`void`	`setTimeZone(TimeZone zone)` Sets the time zone for the calendar of this DateFormat object.

Methods inherited from class com.ibm.icu.text.UFormat
getLocale

Methods inherited from class java.text.Format
format, formatToCharacterIterator, parseObject

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

- Field Detail
  - calendar
```
protected Calendar calendar
```
    The calendar that DateFormat uses to produce the time field values needed to implement date and time formatting. Subclasses should initialize this to a calendar appropriate for the locale associated with this DateFormat.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - numberFormat
```
protected NumberFormat numberFormat
```
    The number formatter that DateFormat uses to format numbers in dates and times. Subclasses should initialize this to a number format appropriate for the locale associated with this DateFormat.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - ERA_FIELD
```
public static final int ERA_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'G' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ERA field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - YEAR_FIELD
```
public static final int YEAR_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'y' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.YEAR field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - MONTH_FIELD
```
public static final int MONTH_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'M' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - DATE_FIELD
```
public static final int DATE_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'd' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DATE field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD
```
public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'k' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY field. HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD is used for the one-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 24:59.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD
```
public static final int HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'H' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY field. HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 24-hour clock. For example, 23:59 + 01:00 results in 00:59.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - MINUTE_FIELD
```
public static final int MINUTE_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'm' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MINUTE field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - SECOND_FIELD
```
public static final int SECOND_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 's' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.SECOND field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD
```
public static final int FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'S' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MILLISECOND field. Note: Time formats that use 'S' can display a maximum of three significant digits for fractional seconds, corresponding to millisecond resolution and a fractional seconds sub-pattern of SSS. If the sub-pattern is S or SS, the fractional seconds value will be truncated (not rounded) to the number of display places specified. If the fractional seconds sub-pattern is longer than SSS, the additional display places will be filled with zeros.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - MILLISECOND_FIELD
```
public static final int MILLISECOND_FIELD
```
    Alias for FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD
```
public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'E' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD
```
public static final int DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'D' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DAY_OF_YEAR field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD
```
public static final int DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'F' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD
```
public static final int WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'w' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.WEEK_OF_YEAR field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD
```
public static final int WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'W' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.WEEK_OF_MONTH field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - AM_PM_FIELD
```
public static final int AM_PM_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'a' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.AM_PM field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - HOUR1_FIELD
```
public static final int HOUR1_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'h' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR field. HOUR1_FIELD is used for the one-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 12:30 AM.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - HOUR0_FIELD
```
public static final int HOUR0_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'K' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.HOUR field. HOUR0_FIELD is used for the zero-based 12-hour clock. For example, 11:30 PM + 1 hour results in 00:30 AM.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - TIMEZONE_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_FIELD
```
    FieldPosition selector for 'z' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - YEAR_WOY_FIELD
```
public static final int YEAR_WOY_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Y' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.YEAR_WOY field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - DOW_LOCAL_FIELD
```
public static final int DOW_LOCAL_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'e' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DOW_LOCAL field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - EXTENDED_YEAR_FIELD
```
public static final int EXTENDED_YEAR_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'u' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.EXTENDED_YEAR field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - JULIAN_DAY_FIELD
```
public static final int JULIAN_DAY_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'g' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.JULIAN_DAY field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY_FIELD
```
public static final int MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'A' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY field.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - TIMEZONE_RFC_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_RFC_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Z' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.0.
  - TIMEZONE_GENERIC_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_GENERIC_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'v' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the generic zone name, if available.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.4.
  - STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD
```
public static final int STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'c' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK field. This displays the stand alone day name, if available.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.4.
  - STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD
```
public static final int STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'L' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the stand alone month name, if available.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.4.
  - QUARTER_FIELD
```
public static final int QUARTER_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'Q' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the quarter.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.6.
  - STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD
```
public static final int STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'q' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.MONTH field. This displays the stand alone quarter, if available.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.6.
  - TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'V' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the fallback timezone name when VVVV is specified, and the short standard or daylight timezone name ignoring commonlyUsed when a single V is specified.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - YEAR_NAME_FIELD
```
public static final int YEAR_NAME_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'U' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.YEAR field. This displays the cyclic year name, if available.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 49.
  - TIMEZONE_LOCALIZED_GMT_OFFSET_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_LOCALIZED_GMT_OFFSET_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'O' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the localized GMT format.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 51.
  - TIMEZONE_ISO_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_ISO_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'X' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the ISO 8601 local time offset format or UTC indicator ("Z").
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 51.
  - TIMEZONE_ISO_LOCAL_FIELD
```
public static final int TIMEZONE_ISO_LOCAL_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'x' field alignment, corresponding to the Calendar.ZONE_OFFSET and Calendar.DST_OFFSET fields. This displays the ISO 8601 local time offset format.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 51.
  - AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD
```
public static final int AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'b' field alignment. No related Calendar field. This displays the fixed day period (am/pm/midnight/noon).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 59.
  - FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD
```
public static final int FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD
```
    [icu] FieldPosition selector for 'B' field alignment. No related Calendar field. This displays the flexible day period.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 59.
  - TIME_SEPARATOR
```
@Deprecated
public static final int TIME_SEPARATOR
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    [icu] FieldPosition selector time separator, no related Calendar field. No pattern character is currently defined for this.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - FIELD_COUNT
```
@Deprecated
public static final int FIELD_COUNT
```
    Deprecated. ICU 58 The numeric value may change over time, see ICU ticket #12420.
    
    [icu] Number of FieldPosition selectors for DateFormat. Valid selectors range from 0 to FIELD_COUNT-1.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - NONE
```
public static final int NONE
```
    [icu] Constant for empty style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - FULL
```
public static final int FULL
```
    Constant for full style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - LONG
```
public static final int LONG
```
    Constant for long style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - MEDIUM
```
public static final int MEDIUM
```
    Constant for medium style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - SHORT
```
public static final int SHORT
```
    Constant for short style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - DEFAULT
```
public static final int DEFAULT
```
    Constant for default style pattern. Its value is MEDIUM.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - RELATIVE
```
public static final int RELATIVE
```
    [icu] Constant for relative style mask.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - RELATIVE_FULL
```
public static final int RELATIVE_FULL
```
    [icu] Constant for relative full style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - RELATIVE_LONG
```
public static final int RELATIVE_LONG
```
    [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - RELATIVE_MEDIUM
```
public static final int RELATIVE_MEDIUM
```
    [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - RELATIVE_SHORT
```
public static final int RELATIVE_SHORT
```
    [icu] Constant for relative style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - RELATIVE_DEFAULT
```
public static final int RELATIVE_DEFAULT
```
    [icu] Constant for relative default style pattern.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.8.
  - YEAR
```
public static final String YEAR
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - QUARTER
```
public static final String QUARTER
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with quarter.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ABBR_QUARTER
```
public static final String ABBR_QUARTER
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated quarter.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - YEAR_QUARTER
```
public static final String YEAR_QUARTER
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and quarter.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER
```
public static final String YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated quarter.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - MONTH
```
public static final String MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - ABBR_MONTH
```
public static final String ABBR_MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - NUM_MONTH
```
public static final String NUM_MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_MONTH
```
public static final String YEAR_MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_ABBR_MONTH
```
public static final String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and abbreviated month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_NUM_MONTH
```
public static final String YEAR_NUM_MONTH
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year and numeric month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - DAY
```
public static final String DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with day.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - WEEKDAY
```
public static final String WEEKDAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with weekday.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ABBR_WEEKDAY
```
public static final String ABBR_WEEKDAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated weekday.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - YEAR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, abbreviated month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - YEAR_NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String YEAR_NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with year, numeric month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with long month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - ABBR_MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String ABBR_MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - NUM_MONTH_DAY
```
public static final String NUM_MONTH_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String ABBR_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with abbreviated month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
public static final String NUM_MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with numeric month, weekday, and day. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - DATE_SKELETONS
```
@Deprecated
public static final List<String> DATE_SKELETONS
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    List of all of the date skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - HOUR
```
public static final String HOUR
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - HOUR24
```
public static final String HOUR24
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour in 24-hour presentation.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - MINUTE
```
public static final String MINUTE
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with minute.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - HOUR_MINUTE
```
public static final String HOUR_MINUTE
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24). Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - HOUR24_MINUTE
```
public static final String HOUR24_MINUTE
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and minute in 24-hour presentation. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - SECOND
```
public static final String SECOND
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with second.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - HOUR_MINUTE_SECOND
```
public static final String HOUR_MINUTE_SECOND
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second, with the locale's preferred hour format (12 or 24). Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - HOUR24_MINUTE_SECOND
```
public static final String HOUR24_MINUTE_SECOND
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and second in 24-hour presentation. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - MINUTE_SECOND
```
public static final String MINUTE_SECOND
```
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with minute and second. Used in combinations date + time, date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - TIME_SKELETONS
```
@Deprecated
public static final List<String> TIME_SKELETONS
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    List of all of the time skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - LOCATION_TZ
```
public static final String LOCATION_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for generic location format, such as Los Angeles Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - GENERIC_TZ
```
public static final String GENERIC_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for generic non-location format, such as Pacific Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ABBR_GENERIC_TZ
```
public static final String ABBR_GENERIC_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for generic non-location format, abbreviated if possible, such as PT; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - SPECIFIC_TZ
```
public static final String SPECIFIC_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for specific non-location format, such as Pacific Daylight Time; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ
```
public static final String ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for specific non-location format, abbreviated if possible, such as PDT; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ABBR_UTC_TZ
```
public static final String ABBR_UTC_TZ
```
    [icu] Constant for localized GMT/UTC format, such as GMT+8:00 or HPG-8:00; used in combinations date + time + zone, or time + zone.
    
    See Also:
    
    LDML Date Format Patterns, LDML Time Zone Fallback, Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 50.
  - ZONE_SKELETONS
```
@Deprecated
public static final List<String> ZONE_SKELETONS
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    List of all of the zone skeleton constants for iteration. Note that this is fragile; be sure to add any values that are added above.
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - STANDALONE_MONTH
```
@Deprecated
public static final String STANDALONE_MONTH
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use MONTH instead.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with standalone month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - ABBR_STANDALONE_MONTH
```
@Deprecated
public static final String ABBR_STANDALONE_MONTH
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use ABBR_MONTH instead.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with standalone abbreviated month.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - HOUR_MINUTE_GENERIC_TZ
```
@Deprecated
public static final String HOUR_MINUTE_GENERIC_TZ
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead HOUR_MINUTE+ABBR_GENERIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and generic timezone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - HOUR_MINUTE_TZ
```
@Deprecated
public static final String HOUR_MINUTE_TZ
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead HOUR_MINUTE+ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour, minute, and timezone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - HOUR_GENERIC_TZ
```
@Deprecated
public static final String HOUR_GENERIC_TZ
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead HOUR+ABBR_GENERIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and generic timezone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - HOUR_TZ
```
@Deprecated
public static final String HOUR_TZ
```
    Deprecated. ICU 50 Use instead HOUR+ABBR_SPECIFIC_TZ or some other timezone presentation.
    
    [icu] Constant for date skeleton with hour and timezone.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - JP_ERA_2019_ROOT
```
@Deprecated
public static final String JP_ERA_2019_ROOT
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, root/English abbreviated version (ASCII-range characters).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - JP_ERA_2019_JA
```
@Deprecated
public static final String JP_ERA_2019_JA
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, Japanese abbreviated version (Han, or fullwidth Latin for testing).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
  - JP_ERA_2019_NARROW
```
@Deprecated
public static final String JP_ERA_2019_NARROW
```
    Deprecated. This API is ICU internal only.
    
    Constant for Unicode string name of new (in 2019) Japanese calendar era, root and Japanese narrow version (ASCII-range characters).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
    
    Status:
    Internal. This API is ICU internal only.
- Constructor Detail
  - DateFormat
```
protected DateFormat()
```
    Creates a new date format.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
- Method Detail
  - format
```
public final StringBuffer format(Object obj,
                                 StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                                 FieldPosition fieldPosition)
```
    Formats a time object into a time string. Examples of time objects are a time value expressed in milliseconds and a Date object.
    
    Specified by:
    
    format in class Format
    
    Parameters:
    
    obj - must be a Number or a Date or a Calendar.
    
    toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning time string.
    
    fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted time string.
    
    See Also:
    
    Format
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - format
```
public abstract StringBuffer format(Calendar cal,
                                    StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                                    FieldPosition fieldPosition)
```
    Formats a date into a date/time string.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - a Calendar set to the date and time to be formatted into a date/time string. When the calendar type is different from the internal calendar held by this DateFormat instance, the date and the time zone will be inherited from the input calendar, but other calendar field values will be calculated by the internal calendar.
    
    toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date/time string.
    
    fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted date/time string.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - format
```
public StringBuffer format(Date date,
                           StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                           FieldPosition fieldPosition)
```
    Formats a Date into a date/time string.
    
    Parameters:
    
    date - a Date to be formatted into a date/time string.
    
    toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date/time string.
    
    fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string. On input: an alignment field, if desired. On output: the offsets of the alignment field. For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively. Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Date to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted date/time string.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - format
```
public final String format(Date date)
```
    Formats a Date into a date/time string.
    
    Parameters:
    
    date - the time value to be formatted into a time string.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted time string.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - format
```
public StringBuffer format(Temporal date,
                           StringBuffer toAppendTo,
                           FieldPosition fieldPosition)
```
    Formats a Temporal into a date/time string.
    
    Parameters:
    
    date - a Temporal to be formatted into a date/time string.
    
    toAppendTo - the string buffer for the returning date/time string.
    
    fieldPosition - keeps track of the position of the field within the returned string.
    On input: an alignment field, if desired.
    On output: the offsets of the alignment field.
    For example, given a time text "1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT", if the given fieldPosition is DateFormat.YEAR_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 0 and 4, respectively.
    Notice that if the same time field appears more than once in a pattern, the fieldPosition will be set for the first occurrence of that time field. For instance, formatting a Temporal to the time string "1 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)" using the pattern "h a z (zzzz)" and the alignment field DateFormat.TIMEZONE_FIELD, the begin index and end index of fieldPosition will be set to 5 and 8, respectively, for the first occurrence of the timezone pattern character 'z'.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted date/time string.
    
    Status:
    Draft ICU 76.
  - format
```
public final String format(Temporal date)
```
    Formats a Temporal into a date/time string.
    
    Parameters:
    
    date - the time value to be formatted into a time string.
    
    Returns:
    
    the formatted time string.
    
    Status:
    Draft ICU 76.
  - parse
```
public Date parse(String text)
           throws ParseException
```
    Parses a date/time string. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Date that is equivalent to Date(837039928046). Parsing begins at the beginning of the string and proceeds as far as possible. Assuming no parse errors were encountered, this function doesn't return any information about how much of the string was consumed by the parsing. If you need that information, use a version of parse() that takes a ParsePosition.
    By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).
    Note that the normal date formats associated with some calendars - such as the Chinese lunar calendar - do not specify enough fields to enable dates to be parsed unambiguously. In the case of the Chinese lunar calendar, while the year within the current 60-year cycle is specified, the number of such cycles since the start date of the calendar (in the ERA field of the Calendar object) is not normally part of the format, and parsing may assume the wrong era. For cases such as this it is recommended that clients parse using the parse method that takes a Calendar with the Calendar passed in set to the current date, or to a date within the era/cycle that should be assumed if absent in the format.
    
    Parameters:
    
    text - The date/time string to be parsed
    
    Returns:
    
    A Date, or null if the input could not be parsed
    
    Throws:
    
    ParseException - If the given string cannot be parsed as a date.
    
    See Also:
    
    parse(String, ParsePosition)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - parse
```
public abstract void parse(String text,
                           Calendar cal,
                           ParsePosition pos)
```
    Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Calendar that is equivalent to Date(837039928046). Before calling this method the caller should initialize the calendar in one of two ways (unless existing field information is to be kept): (1) clear the calendar, or (2) set the calendar to the current date (or to any date whose fields should be used to supply values that are missing in the parsed date). For example, Chinese calendar dates do not normally provide an era/cycle; in this case the calendar that is passed in should be set to a date within the era that should be assumed, normally the current era.
    By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).
    
    Parameters:
    
    text - The date/time string to be parsed
    
    cal - The calendar set on input to the date and time to be used for missing values in the date/time string being parsed, and set on output to the parsed date/time. In general, this should be initialized before calling this method - either cleared or set to the current date, depending on desired behavior. If this parse fails, the calendar may still have been modified. When the calendar type is different from the internal calendar held by this DateFormat instance, calendar field values will be parsed based on the internal calendar initialized with the time and the time zone taken from this calendar, then the parse result (time in milliseconds and time zone) will be set back to this calendar.
    
    pos - On input, the position at which to start parsing; on output, the position at which parsing terminated, or the start position if the parse failed.
    
    See Also:
    
    setLenient(boolean)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - parse
```
public Date parse(String text,
                  ParsePosition pos)
```
    Parses a date/time string according to the given parse position. For example, a time text "07/10/96 4:5 PM, PDT" will be parsed into a Date that is equivalent to Date(837039928046).
    By default, parsing is lenient: If the input is not in the form used by this object's format method but can still be parsed as a date, then the parse succeeds. Clients may insist on strict adherence to the format by calling setLenient(false).
    Note that the normal date formats associated with some calendars - such as the Chinese lunar calendar - do not specify enough fields to enable dates to be parsed unambiguously. In the case of the Chinese lunar calendar, while the year within the current 60-year cycle is specified, the number of such cycles since the start date of the calendar (in the ERA field of the Calendar object) is not normally part of the format, and parsing may assume the wrong era. For cases such as this it is recommended that clients parse using the parse method that takes a Calendar with the Calendar passed in set to the current date, or to a date within the era/cycle that should be assumed if absent in the format.
    
    Parameters:
    
    text - The date/time string to be parsed
    
    pos - On input, the position at which to start parsing; on output, the position at which parsing terminated, or the start position if the parse failed.
    
    Returns:
    
    A Date, or null if the input could not be parsed
    
    See Also:
    
    setLenient(boolean)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - parseObject
```
public Object parseObject(String source,
                          ParsePosition pos)
```
    Parses a date/time string into an Object. This convenience method simply calls parse(String, ParsePosition).
    
    Specified by:
    
    parseObject in class Format
    
    See Also:
    
    parse(String, ParsePosition)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance()
```
    Gets the time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a time formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style)
```
    Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    Returns:
    
    a time formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style,
                                               Locale aLocale)
```
    Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    aLocale - the given locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a time formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(int style,
                                               ULocale locale)
```
    Returns the time formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    locale - the given ulocale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a time formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance()
```
    Returns the date formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style)
```
    Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style,
                                               Locale aLocale)
```
    Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    aLocale - the given locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(int style,
                                               ULocale locale)
```
    Returns the date formatter with the given formatting style for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    style - the given formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    locale - the given ulocale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance()
```
    Returns the date/time formatter with the default formatting style for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date/time formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle)
```
    Returns the date/time formatter with the given date and time formatting styles for the default FORMAT locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the given date formatting style. For example, SHORT for "M/d/yy" in the US locale. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    timeStyle - the given time formatting style. For example, SHORT for "h:mm a" in the US locale. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date/time formatter.
    
    See Also:
    
    ULocale.Category.FORMAT
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle,
                                                   Locale aLocale)
```
    Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the given date formatting style. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    timeStyle - the given time formatting style. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    aLocale - the given locale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date/time formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle,
                                                   ULocale locale)
```
    Returns the date/time formatter with the given formatting styles for the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    dateStyle - the given date formatting style. As currently implemented, relative date formatting only affects a limited range of calendar days before or after the current date, based on the CLDR <field type="day">/<relative> data: For example, in English, "Yesterday", "Today", and "Tomorrow". Outside of this range, relative dates are formatted using the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    timeStyle - the given time formatting style. Relative time styles are not currently supported, and behave just like the corresponding non-relative style.
    
    locale - the given ulocale.
    
    Returns:
    
    a date/time formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getInstance()
```
    Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getAvailableLocales
```
public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()
```
    Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
    
    Returns:
    
    the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getAvailableULocales
```
public static ULocale[] getAvailableULocales()
```
    [icu] Returns the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
    
    Returns:
    
    the set of locales for which DateFormats are installed.
    
    Status:
    Draft ICU 3.2 (retain).
  - setCalendar
```
public void setCalendar(Calendar newCalendar)
```
    Sets the calendar to be used by this date format. Initially, the default calendar for the specified or default locale is used.
    
    Parameters:
    
    newCalendar - the new Calendar to be used by the date format
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getCalendar
```
public Calendar getCalendar()
```
    Returns the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
    
    Returns:
    
    the calendar associated with this date/time formatter.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - setNumberFormat
```
public void setNumberFormat(NumberFormat newNumberFormat)
```
    Sets the number formatter.
    
    Parameters:
    
    newNumberFormat - the given new NumberFormat.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getNumberFormat
```
public NumberFormat getNumberFormat()
```
    Returns the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses to format and parse a time.
    
    Returns:
    
    the number formatter which this date/time formatter uses.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - setTimeZone
```
public void setTimeZone(TimeZone zone)
```
    Sets the time zone for the calendar of this DateFormat object.
    
    Parameters:
    
    zone - the given new time zone.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeZone
```
public TimeZone getTimeZone()
```
    Returns the time zone.
    
    Returns:
    
    the time zone associated with the calendar of DateFormat.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - setLenient
```
public void setLenient(boolean lenient)
```
    Specifies whether date/time parsing is to be lenient. With lenient parsing, the parser may use heuristics to interpret inputs that do not precisely match this object's format. Without lenient parsing, inputs must match this object's format more closely.
    
    Note: ICU 53 introduced finer grained control of leniency (and added new control points) making the preferred method a combination of setCalendarLenient() & setBooleanAttribute() calls. This method supports prior functionality but may not support all future leniency control & behavior of DateFormat. For control of pre 53 leniency, Calendar and DateFormat whitespace & numeric tolerance, this method is safe to use. However, mixing leniency control via this method and modification of the newer attributes via setBooleanAttribute() may produce undesirable results.
    
    Parameters:
    
    lenient - True specifies date/time interpretation to be lenient.
    
    See Also:
    
    Calendar.setLenient(boolean), setBooleanAttribute(BooleanAttribute, boolean), setCalendarLenient(boolean)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - isLenient
```
public boolean isLenient()
```
    Returns whether both date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object and DateFormat whitespace & numeric processing is lenient.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - setCalendarLenient
```
public void setCalendarLenient(boolean lenient)
```
    Specifies whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object should be lenient. With lenient parsing, the parser may use heuristics to interpret inputs that do not precisely match this object's format. Without lenient parsing, inputs must match this object's format more closely.
    
    Parameters:
    
    lenient - when true, Calendar parsing is lenient
    
    See Also:
    
    Calendar.setLenient(boolean)
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - isCalendarLenient
```
public boolean isCalendarLenient()
```
    Returns whether date/time parsing in the encapsulated Calendar object is lenient.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - setBooleanAttribute
```
public DateFormat setBooleanAttribute(DateFormat.BooleanAttribute key,
                                      boolean value)
```
    Sets a boolean attribute for this instance. Aspects of DateFormat leniency are controlled by boolean attributes.
    
    See Also:
    
    DateFormat.BooleanAttribute
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - getBooleanAttribute
```
public boolean getBooleanAttribute(DateFormat.BooleanAttribute key)
```
    Returns the current value for the specified BooleanAttribute for this instance if attribute is missing false is returned.
    
    See Also:
    
    DateFormat.BooleanAttribute
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - setContext
```
public void setContext(DisplayContext context)
```
    [icu] Set a particular DisplayContext value in the formatter, such as CAPITALIZATION_FOR_STANDALONE.
    
    Parameters:
    
    context - The DisplayContext value to set.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - getContext
```
public DisplayContext getContext(DisplayContext.Type type)
```
    [icu] Get the formatter's DisplayContext value for the specified DisplayContext.Type, such as CAPITALIZATION.
    
    Parameters:
    
    type - the DisplayContext.Type whose value to return
    
    Returns:
    
    the current DisplayContext setting for the specified type
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 53.
  - hashCode
```
public int hashCode()
```
    Overrides hashCode.
    
    Overrides:
    
    hashCode in class Object
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - equals
```
public boolean equals(Object obj)
```
    Overrides equals.
    
    Overrides:
    
    equals in class Object
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - clone
```
public Object clone()
```
    Overrides clone.
    
    Overrides:
    
    clone in class Format
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int dateStyle,
                                               Locale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int dateStyle,
                                               ULocale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int timeStyle,
                                               Locale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the time format is desired.
    
    See Also:
    
    getTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int timeStyle,
                                               ULocale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the time format is desired.
    
    See Also:
    
    getTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                                   int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle,
                                                   Locale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    See Also:
    
    getDateTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                                   int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle,
                                                   ULocale locale)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    See Also:
    
    getDateTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getInstance(Calendar cal,
                                           Locale locale)
```
    Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getInstance(Calendar cal,
                                           ULocale locale)
```
    Returns a date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 3.2.
  - getInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getInstance(Calendar cal)
```
    Returns a default date/time formatter that uses the SHORT style for both the date and the time.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int dateStyle)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object for the default locale that can be used to format dates in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                               int timeStyle)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a time format is desired.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    See Also:
    
    getTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getDateTimeInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getDateTimeInstance(Calendar cal,
                                                   int dateStyle,
                                                   int timeStyle)
```
    Creates a DateFormat object for the default locale that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    dateStyle - The type of date format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    timeStyle - The type of time format desired. This can be SHORT, MEDIUM, etc.
    
    See Also:
    
    getDateTimeInstance()
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 2.0.
  - getInstanceForSkeleton
```
public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 54.
  - getInstanceForSkeleton
```
public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton,
                                                      Locale locale)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 54.
  - getInstanceForSkeleton
```
public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton(String skeleton,
                                                      ULocale locale)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 54.
  - getInstanceForSkeleton
```
public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton(Calendar cal,
                                                      String skeleton,
                                                      Locale locale)
```
    [icu] Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 54.
  - getInstanceForSkeleton
```
public static final DateFormat getInstanceForSkeleton(Calendar cal,
                                                      String skeleton,
                                                      ULocale locale)
```
    [icu] Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 54.
  - getPatternInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance(String skeleton)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the default locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - getPatternInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance(String skeleton,
                                                  Locale locale)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - getPatternInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance(String skeleton,
                                                  ULocale locale)
```
    [icu] Returns a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the given locale. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
    
    Parameters:
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - getPatternInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance(Calendar cal,
                                                  String skeleton,
                                                  Locale locale)
```
    [icu] Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.
  - getPatternInstance
```
public static final DateFormat getPatternInstance(Calendar cal,
                                                  String skeleton,
                                                  ULocale locale)
```
    [icu] Creates a DateFormat object that can be used to format dates and times in the calendar system specified by cal. The getInstanceForSkeleton methods are preferred over the getPatternInstance methods.
    
    Parameters:
    
    cal - The calendar system for which a date/time format is desired.
    
    skeleton - The skeleton that selects the fields to be formatted. (Uses the DateTimePatternGenerator.) This can be ABBR_MONTH, MONTH_WEEKDAY_DAY, etc.
    
    locale - The locale for which the date/time format is desired.
    
    Status:
    Stable ICU 4.0.

Class DateFormat

Synchronization

Nested Class Summary

Nested classes/interfaces inherited from class com.ibm.icu.text.UFormat

Field Summary

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class com.ibm.icu.text.UFormat

Methods inherited from class java.text.Format

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Field Detail

calendar

numberFormat

ERA_FIELD

YEAR_FIELD

MONTH_FIELD

DATE_FIELD

HOUR_OF_DAY1_FIELD

HOUR_OF_DAY0_FIELD

MINUTE_FIELD

SECOND_FIELD

FRACTIONAL_SECOND_FIELD

MILLISECOND_FIELD

DAY_OF_WEEK_FIELD

DAY_OF_YEAR_FIELD

DAY_OF_WEEK_IN_MONTH_FIELD

WEEK_OF_YEAR_FIELD

WEEK_OF_MONTH_FIELD

AM_PM_FIELD

HOUR1_FIELD

HOUR0_FIELD

TIMEZONE_FIELD

YEAR_WOY_FIELD

DOW_LOCAL_FIELD

EXTENDED_YEAR_FIELD

JULIAN_DAY_FIELD

MILLISECONDS_IN_DAY_FIELD

TIMEZONE_RFC_FIELD

TIMEZONE_GENERIC_FIELD

STANDALONE_DAY_FIELD

STANDALONE_MONTH_FIELD

QUARTER_FIELD

STANDALONE_QUARTER_FIELD

TIMEZONE_SPECIAL_FIELD

YEAR_NAME_FIELD

TIMEZONE_LOCALIZED_GMT_OFFSET_FIELD

TIMEZONE_ISO_FIELD

TIMEZONE_ISO_LOCAL_FIELD

AM_PM_MIDNIGHT_NOON_FIELD

FLEXIBLE_DAY_PERIOD_FIELD

TIME_SEPARATOR

FIELD_COUNT

NONE

FULL

LONG

MEDIUM

SHORT

DEFAULT

RELATIVE

RELATIVE_FULL

RELATIVE_LONG

RELATIVE_MEDIUM

RELATIVE_SHORT

RELATIVE_DEFAULT

YEAR

QUARTER

ABBR_QUARTER

YEAR_QUARTER

YEAR_ABBR_QUARTER

MONTH

ABBR_MONTH

NUM_MONTH

YEAR_MONTH

YEAR_ABBR_MONTH

YEAR_NUM_MONTH

DAY

YEAR_MONTH_DAY

YEAR_ABBR_MONTH_DAY

YEAR_NUM_MONTH_DAY

WEEKDAY