SimpledateFormat's parse method java

Question

This is a silly question, but I can't see what I am doing wrong. I want to parse a string like 24:00 to a date object. I am aware that if we use kk:mm as the date format the times would be from 01:00 to 24:00 (from the API). But I can't get the below code working.

String test = "24:00";
System.out.println("TEST: " + new SimpleDateFormat("kk:mm").parse(test));

Output:

TEST: Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 1970

Expected output:

TEST: Thu Jan 01 24:00:00 GMT 1970

Edit:

System.out.println("TEST: " + new SimpleDateFormat("k:mm:ss").format(new SimpleDateFormat("k:mm:ss").parse(test)));

this prints TEST: Thu Jan 01 24:00:00 GMT 1970

But why not while parsing?

Any help is greatly appreciated

Try to output "Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 1970" via "kk:mm" and you will see :) — Fildor
– Fildor, Commented Sep 28, 2012 at 11:13
@Fildor ofcourse, it works that way. but why not while parsing? — PermGenError
– PermGenError, Commented Sep 28, 2012 at 11:15
It does actually work. But the DateTime object cannot hold "24:00". It is 00:00 - 23:59. It will output 00:00 as 24:00 when formated with "k" but internally still be 00:00. It's a bit like using AM/PM or 24-hour. Internally represented the same - different output. — Fildor
– Fildor, Commented Sep 28, 2012 at 11:18
I was actually a bit sloppy, +1 for @jalynn2's precise explanation. — Fildor
– Fildor, Commented Sep 28, 2012 at 11:23

jalynn2 · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-28 11:16:19Z

5

The Date.toString() method is defaulting to hh:mm. Use SimpleDateFormat to output it as well as to parse it.

answered Sep 28, 2012 at 11:16

jalynn2

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3 Comments

PermGenError Over a year ago

i dont want a string i want a date object

Keppil Over a year ago

@chaitanya10: They dates are the same, it's just a question of how you want the output formatted.

jalynn2 Over a year ago

The Date object uses a long to represent the time: number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01. WHen you parse it you get a date object with that number. The formatting turns that number into a human-readable string. You may request that the string is formatted where midnight="00:00", "24:00", or "12:00 AM". They are all just different representations of the same thing. Since you are not supplying a date, 00:00 = 24:00

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