Format date and time in Java

In this source code example, we will see how to use format patterns for date and time in Java.

Java Format date and time Examples

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.time.LocalTime;
import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
import java.time.OffsetTime;
import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.util.Date;

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.out.println("Before JDK 8:");
        // yyyy-MM-dd
        Date date = new Date();
        
        SimpleDateFormat formatterD1 = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");
        String d1 = formatterD1.format(date);
        
        System.out.println(d1);
        
        // yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
        SimpleDateFormat formatterD2 = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
        String d2 = formatterD2.format(date);
        
        System.out.println(d2);
        
        // E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ
        SimpleDateFormat formatterD3 = new SimpleDateFormat("E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ");
        String d3 = formatterD3.format(date);
        
        System.out.println(d3);
        
        System.out.println("\nStarting with JDK 8:");
        
        // yyyy-MM-dd
        LocalDate localDate = LocalDate.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterLocalDate = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd");
        String ld1 = formatterLocalDate.format(localDate);

        // or shortly
        String ld2 = LocalDate.now().format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd"));

        System.out.println(ld1);
        System.out.println(ld2);
        
        // HH:mm:ss
        LocalTime localTime = LocalTime.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterLocalTime = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("HH:mm:ss");
        String lt1 = formatterLocalTime.format(localTime);

        // or shortly
        String lt2 = LocalTime.now().format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("HH:mm:ss"));

        System.out.println(lt1);
        System.out.println(lt2);
        
        // yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
        LocalDateTime localDateTime = LocalDateTime.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterLocalDateTime = 
                DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
        String ldt1 = formatterLocalDateTime.format(localDateTime);

        // or shortly
        String ldt2 = LocalDateTime.now()
                .format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"));
        
        System.out.println(ldt1);
        System.out.println(ldt2);
        
        // E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ
        ZonedDateTime zonedDateTime = ZonedDateTime.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterZonedDateTime = 
                DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ");
        String zdt1 = formatterZonedDateTime.format(zonedDateTime);

        // or shortly
        String zdt2 = ZonedDateTime.now()
                .format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ"));                
        
        System.out.println(zdt1);
        System.out.println(zdt2);                                
        
        // E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ
        OffsetDateTime offsetDateTime = OffsetDateTime.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterOffsetDateTime = 
                DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ");
        String odt1 = formatterOffsetDateTime.format(offsetDateTime);

        // or shortly
        String odt2 = OffsetDateTime.now()
                .format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("E MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.SSSZ"));                
        
        System.out.println(odt1);
        System.out.println(odt2);
        
        // HH:mm:ss,Z
        OffsetTime offsetTime = OffsetTime.now();
        DateTimeFormatter formatterOffsetTime = 
                DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("HH:mm:ss,Z");
        String ot1 = formatterOffsetTime.format(offsetTime);
        
        // or shortly
        String ot2 = OffsetTime.now()
                .format(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("HH:mm:ss,Z"));
        
        System.out.println(ot1);
        System.out.println(ot2);
    }

}

Output:

Before JDK 8:
2021-11-10
2021-11-10 16:22:19
Wed Nov 2021 16:22:19.766+0530

Starting with JDK 8:
2021-11-10
2021-11-10
16:22:20
16:22:20
2021-11-10 16:22:20
2021-11-10 16:22:20
Wed Nov 2021 16:22:20.158+0530
Wed Nov 2021 16:22:20.212+0530
Wed Nov 2021 16:22:20.213+0530
Wed Nov 2021 16:22:20.213+0530
16:22:20,+0530
16:22:20,+0530