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Convert string to appropriate date with timezone java

I am Having Date with it's timezone, I want to convert it to another Timezone, E.g. I have Date '3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM' which is in TimeZone 'GMT-06:00'. I want to convert this in 'GMT-05:00' timezone. I have search lot, and I am confuse about How actually Date is working. How to Apply timezone to date. I have try with SimpleDateFormat, Calender and also with offset.
DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss aaa XXX");
df.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT"));
Date dt = null;
try {
dt = df.parse("3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM -06:00");
} catch (ParseException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
String newDateString = df.format(dt);
System.out.println(newDateString);
It returns output
03/15/2013 09:01:53 AM Z.
I guess it should be
03/15/2013 09:01:53 PM Z, because time in 'GMT-06:00' timezone, so it should be HH+6 to get time in GMT. I want Date in "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" format where HH is in 24 hour.Please Help me with example. Thanks in advance.
EDIT :
I am converting the string into date using SimpleDateFormat
DateFormat df = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss aaa");
Date dt = null;
try {
dt = df.parse("3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM");
} catch (ParseException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
Now, as you say, I specify to Calendar that my date is in 'GMT-06:00' timezone and set my date,
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance(TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT-6"));
cal.setTime(dt);
Now, I am telling calendar that I want date in 'GMT'
cal.setTimeZone (TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT"));
System.out.println(cal.getTime());
OutPut:
Fri Mar 15 03:01:53 CDT 2013
Please know me if i am going wrong.

You need TWO format objects, one for parsing and another one for printing because you use two different timezones, see here:
// h instead of H because of AM/PM-format
DateFormat parseFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("M/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss aaa XXX");
Date dt = null;
try {
dt = parseFormat.parse("3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM -06:00");
}catch (ParseException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
DateFormat printFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("M/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss aaa XXX");
printFormat.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("GMT-05"));
String newDateString = printFormat.format(dt);
System.out.println(newDateString);
Output: 3/15/2013 04:01:53 PM -05:00
If you want HH:mm:ss (24-hour-format) then you just replace
hh:mm:ss aaa
by
HH:mm:ss
in printFormat-pattern.
Comment on other aspects of question:
A java.util.Date has no internal timezone and always refers to UTC by spec. You cannot change it inside this object. A timezone conversion is possible for the formatted string, however as demonstrated in my code example (you wanted to convert to zone GMT-05).
The question then switches to the new requirement to print the Date-object in ISO-format using UTC timezone (symbol Z). This can be done in formatting by replacing the pattern with "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssXXX" and explicitly setting the timezone of printFormat to GMT+00. You should clarify what you really want as formatted output.
About java.util.GregorianCalendar: Setting the timezone here is changing the calendar-object in a programmatical way, so it affects method calls like calendar.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY). This has nothing to do with formatting however!

tl;dr
OffsetDateTime.parse(
"3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM -06:00" ,
DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "M/d/yyyy H:mm:ss a XXX" )
).withOffsetSameInstant(
ZoneOffset.of( -5 , 0 )
)
2013-03-15T15:01:53-06:00
java.time
The Answer by Hochschild is correct but uses outdated classes. The troublesome old date-time classes bundled with the earliest versions of Java have been supplanted by the modern java.time classes.
Parse your input string as a OffsetDateTime as it contains an offset-from-UTC but not a time zone.
String input = "3/15/2013 3:01:53 PM -06:00";
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "M/d/yyyy h:mm:ss a XXX" );
OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse( input , f );
odt.toString(): 2013-03-15T15:01:53-06:00
Tip: Save yourself some hassle and use the ISO 8601 formats when exchanging date-time data as text. The java.time classes use these standard formats by default when parsing/generating strings.
Apparently you want to see the same moment as viewed by the people elsewhere using a different offset-from-UTC.
ZoneOffset offset = ZoneOffset.of( -5 , 0 ) ;
OffsetDateTime odt2 = odt.withOffsetSameInstant( offset ) ;
We see the offset changes from 6 to 5, and the hour-of-day changes accordingly from 15 to 16. Same simultaneous moment, different wall-clock time.
odt2.toString(): 2013-03-15T16:01:53-05:00
Generating strings
I want Date in "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" format where HH is in 24 hour.
I suggest you always include some indication of the offset or zoneunless your are absolutely certain the user understands from the greater context.
Your format is nearly in standard ISO 8601 format. You could define your own formatting pattern, but I would just do string manipulation to replace the T in the middle with a SPACE.
String output = odt2.format( DateTimeFormatter.ISO_LOCAL_DATE_TIME ).replace( "T" , " " ) ;
2013-03-15 16:01:53
About java.time
The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.
The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.
To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.
With a JDBC driver complying with JDBC 4.2 or later, you may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. No need for strings or java.sql.* classes.
Where to obtain the java.time classes?
Java SE 8, Java SE 9, and later
Built-in.
Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
Java 9 adds some minor features and fixes.
Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
Much of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
Android
Later versions of Android bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android, the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….
The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.

Java String to Date object of the format "yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss"

I need to convert a String containing date into an date object. The String will be of the format "yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS" and I want the same format in an date object.
For instance I have a string "2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000", and I need the resultant date object to be of the same format.
I have tried the below methods but, the resultant is not as expected.
java.util.Date temp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS").parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss");
Date thisDate = dateFormat.parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
The result is "Tue Jan 10 14:58:00 EST 2012". Please let me know where I am going wrong.
Thanks,
Yeshwanth Kota

java.util.Date temp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS").parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
The mm is minutes you want MM
CODE
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) throws ParseException {
java.util.Date temp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS")
.parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
System.out.println(temp);
}
}
Prints:
Tue Jul 10 14:58:00 EDT 2012

For future reference:
yyyy => 4 digit year
MM => 2 digit month (you must type MM in ALL CAPS)
dd => 2 digit "day of the month"
HH => 2-digit "hour in day" (0 to 23)
mm => 2-digit minute (you must type mm in lowercase)
ss => 2-digit seconds
SSS => milliseconds
So "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" returns "2018-01-05 09:49:32"
But "MMM dd, yyyy hh:mm a" returns "Jan 05, 2018 09:49 am"
The so-called examples at https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html show only output. They do not tell you what formats to use!

tl;dr
LocalDateTime.parse(
"2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000".replace( " " , "T" )
)
Microseconds do not fit
You are attempting to squeeze a value with microseconds (six decimal digits) into a data type capable only of milliseconds resolution (three decimal digits). That is impossible.
Instead, use a data type with fine enough resolution. The java.time classes use nanosecond resolution (nine decimal digits).
Unzoned input does not fit a zoned type
You are attempting to put a value lacking any offset-from-UTC or time zone into a data type (Date) that only represents values in UTC. So you are adding information (UTC offset) not intended by the input.
Use an appropriate data type instead. Specifically, java.time.LocalDateTime.
Case-sensitive
Other Answers and Comments correctly explain that the formatting pattern codes are case-sensitive. So MM and mm have different effects.
Avoid legacy classes
The troublesome old date-time classes bundled with the earliest versions of Java are now legacy, supplanted by the java.time classes built into Java 8 and later.
ISO 8601
Your input strings nearly comply with the ISO 8601 standard formats. Replace the SPACE in the middle with a T to comply fully.
The java.time classes use the standard formats by default when parsing/generating strings. So no need to specify a formatting pattern.
Date-time objects have no "format"
and I need the resultant date object to be of the same format.
No, date-time objects do not have a "format". Do not conflate date-time objects with mere strings. Strings are inputs and outputs of the objects. The objects maintain their own internal representions of the date-time info, the details of which are irrelevant to us as calling programmers.
java.time
Your input lacks any indicator of offset-from-UTC or troublesome me zone. So we parse as a LocalDateTime objects which lacks those concepts.
String input = "2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000".replace( " " , "T" ) ;
LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.parse( input ) ;
Generating strings
To generate a String representing the value of your LocalDateTime:
Call toString to get a String in standard ISO 8601 format.
Use DateTimeFormatter for producing strings in either custom formats or automatically-localized formats.
Search Stack Overflow for more info as these topics have been covered many many times already.
ZonedDateTime
A LocalDateTime does not represent an exact point on the timeline.
To determine an actual moment, assign a time zone. For example noon in Kolkata India comes much earlier than noon in Paris France. Noon without a time zone could be happening at any point over a range of about 26-27 hours.
ZoneId z = ZoneId.of( "Asia/Kolkata" ) ;
ZonedDateTime zdt = ldt.atZone( z ) ;
About java.time
The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.
To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.
The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.
You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes. Hibernate 5 & JPA 2.2 support java.time.
Where to obtain the java.time classes?
Java SE 8, Java SE 9, Java SE 10, Java SE 11, and later - Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
Java 9 brought some minor features and fixes.
Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
Most of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
Android
Later versions of Android (26+) bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android (<26), the process of API desugaring brings a subset of the java.time functionality not originally built into Android.
If the desugaring does not offer what you need, the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above) to Android. See How to use ThreeTenABP….

Your not applying Date formator. rather you are just parsing the date. to get output in this format
yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS
we have to use format() method here is full example:-
Here is full example:-
it will take Date in this format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS
and as result we will get output as same as this format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
//TODO OutPut should LIKE in this format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS.
public class TestDateExample {
public static void main(String args[]) throws ParseException {
SimpleDateFormat changeFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS");
java.util.Date temp = changeFormat.parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
Date thisDate = changeFormat.parse("2012-07-10 14:58:00.000000");
System.out.println(thisDate);
System.out.println("----------------------------");
System.out.println("After applying formating :");
String strDateOutput = changeFormat.format(temp);
System.out.println(strDateOutput);
}
}

its work for me
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss");
sdf.format(new Date));

Convert java.sql.Timestamp to java.sql.Timestamp in another timezone

I am in need to manipulate on java.sql.Timestamp.
Input to the function is:
Formatted DateTime in java.sql.Timestamp
[Possible date formats are: MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss aa, MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss, MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa, MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm, MM/dd/yy hh:mm aa, MM/dd/yy HH:mm, MM/dd/yyyy, and some others]
Required Output:
java.sql.Timestamp in another Timezone the same formatted DateTime as input
So basically I need to change timezone of the DateTime in java.sql.Timestamp
I have seen other posts, which mention to use JODA, but I can't use it due to some restrictions.
I have tried
- to convert java.sql.Timestamp to java.date.Calendar,
- then change the timezone,
- then convert to it to date
- format date to the same formatted datetime
See the code below:
Timestamp ts = "2012-06-20 18:22:42.0"; // I get this type of value from another function
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.setTime(ts);
cal.add(Calendar.HOUR, -8);
String string = cal.getTime().toString(); // return value is in " DAY MMM dd hh:mm:ss PDT yyyy " format i.e. Wed Jun 20 10:22:42 PDT 2012
SimpleDateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss"); // This could be any format required
Date date;
try {
date = formatter.parse(string); // I am getting exception here on parsing
} catch (ParseException e1) {
e1.printStackTrace();
}
Can anyone tell me what is wrong here, or is there any other way to manipulate on Timezone for java.sql.Timestamp ?
Thanks.

You are misunderstanding and abusing these classes.
Timestamp & Date have no time zone but UTC
manipulate on Timezone for java.sql.Timestamp
A java.sql.Timestamp is always a moment in UTC. No other time zone is involved, only UTC. Ditto for java.util.Date – always in UTC, no other time zone involved.
So your Question, as quoted above, does not make sense.
Timestamp & Date have no “format”
Neither Timestamp nor Date have a “format”. They use their own internally defined way to track the date-time. They are not strings, so they have no format. You can generate a String to represent their value in a particular format, but such a String is distinct and separate from the generating object.
java.time
You are using troublesome old date-time classes that wore supplanted years ago by the java.time classes.
Both Timestamp and Date are replaced by Instant. The Instant class represents a moment on the timeline in UTC with a resolution of nanoseconds (up to nine (9) digits of a decimal fraction).
Your input is
String input = "2012-06-20 18:22:42.0" ;
That input is nearly compliant with standard ISO 8601 format. To comply fully, replace the SPACE in the middle with a T.
String input = "2012-06-20 18:22:42.0".replace( " " , "T" ) ;
Parse as a LocalDateTime because it lacks an indicator of offset-from-UTC or time zone.
LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.parse( input ) ;
A LocalDateTime, like your input string, does not represent a moment, is not a point on the timeline. Without the context of a time zone or offset-from-UTC, it has no real meaning. It represents only potential moments along a range of about 26-27 hours.
If you know the intended time zone, apply it to get a ZonedDateTime object.
ZoneId z = ZoneId.of( "Africa/Tunis" ) ;
ZonedDateTime zdt = ldt.atZone( z ) ;
As for the other formats you mentioned, your Question is not at all clear. Search Stack Overflow for DateTimeFormatter class to see many examples and discussions of generating/parsing strings with the java.time classes. But first, get clear on the crucial concept that strings are not the date-time objects, and the date-time objects are not strings.
Database
If you were using java.sql.Timestamp to exchange data with a database, no need for that class anymore. As of JDBC 4.2 and later, you can directly exchange java.time objects with your database.
myPreparedStatement.setObject( … , instant ) ;
…and…
Instant instant = myResultSet.getObject( … , Instant.class ) ;
About java.time
The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.
The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.
To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.
You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes.
Where to obtain the java.time classes?
Java SE 8, Java SE 9, and later
Built-in.
Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
Java 9 adds some minor features and fixes.
Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
Much of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
Android
Later versions of Android bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android (<26), the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….
The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.

Think of Timestamp as being a fixed point in time, disconnected from where on earth you happen to be looking at a clock.
If you want to display what's on the calendar/clock for a person at that instant in a particular time zone, you can set a calendar to that time zone and then associate your SimpleDateFormat to that calendar.
For example:
public void testFormat() throws Exception {
Calendar pacific = Calendar.getInstance(TimeZone.getTimeZone("America/Los_Angeles"));
Calendar atlantic = Calendar.getInstance(TimeZone.getTimeZone("America/New_York"));
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS");
Timestamp ts = new Timestamp(System.currentTimeMillis());
sdf.setCalendar(pacific);
System.out.println(sdf.format(ts));
sdf.setCalendar(atlantic);
System.out.println(sdf.format(ts));
}
My output was:
2012-06-25 20:27:12.506
2012-06-25 23:27:12.506

I got it solved, I am putting code for reference.
Timestamp ts = "2012-06-20 18:22:42.0"; // input date in Timestamp format
SimpleDateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS");
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.setTime(ts)
cal.add(Calendar.HOUR,-7); // Time different between UTC and PDT is -7 hours
String convertedCal = dateFormat.format(cal.getTime()); // This String is converted datetime
/* Now convert String formatted DateTime to Timestamp*/
SimpleDateFormat formatFrom = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS");
try {
Date date = formatFrom.parse(convertedCal);
Timestamp finalTS = new Timestamp(date.getTime()); // Final value in Timestamp: 2012-06-20 11:22:42.0
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}

Couldn't you simply:
Get original time in milliseconds
Convert timezone difference to milliseconds
Add or subtract the difference from the original time.
Create a new timestamp using the new time in milliseconds

you miss one argumment in formatter.parse
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html#parse(java.lang.String,%20java.text.ParsePosition)

How to convert currentTimeMillis to a date in Java?

I have milliseconds in certain log file generated in server, I also know the locale from where the log file was generated, my problem is to convert milliseconds to date in specified format.
The processing of that log is happening on server located in different time zone. While converting to "SimpleDateFormat" program is taking date of the machine as such formatted date do not represent correct time of the server. Is there any way to handle this elegantly ?
long yourmilliseconds = 1322018752992l;
//1322018752992-Nov 22, 2011 9:25:52 PM
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss,SSS",Locale.US);
GregorianCalendar calendar = new GregorianCalendar(TimeZone.getTimeZone("US/Central"));
calendar.setTimeInMillis(yourmilliseconds);
System.out.println("GregorianCalendar -"+sdf.format(calendar.getTime()));
DateTime jodaTime = new DateTime(yourmilliseconds,
DateTimeZone.forTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("US/Central")));
DateTimeFormatter parser1 = DateTimeFormat.forPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss,SSS");
System.out.println("jodaTime "+parser1.print(jodaTime));
Output:
Gregorian Calendar -2011-11-23 08:55:52,992
jodaTime 2011-11-22 21:25:52,992

You may use java.util.Date class and then use SimpleDateFormat to format the Date.
Date date=new Date(millis);
We can use java.time package (tutorial) - DateTime APIs introduced in the Java SE 8.
var instance = java.time.Instant.ofEpochMilli(millis);
var localDateTime = java.time.LocalDateTime
.ofInstant(instance, java.time.ZoneId.of("Asia/Kolkata"));
var zonedDateTime = java.time.ZonedDateTime
.ofInstant(instance,java.time.ZoneId.of("Asia/Kolkata"));
// Format the date
var formatter = java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("u-M-d hh:mm:ss a O");
var string = zonedDateTime.format(formatter);

Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
calendar.setTimeInMillis(timeStamp);
int mYear = calendar.get(Calendar.YEAR);
int mMonth = calendar.get(Calendar.MONTH);
int mDay = calendar.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);

tl;dr
Instant.ofEpochMilli( 1_322_018_752_992L ) // Parse count of milliseconds-since-start-of-1970-UTC into an `Instant`.
.atZone( ZoneId.of( "Africa/Tunis" ) ) // Assign a time zone to the `Instant` to produce a `ZonedDateTime` object.
Details
The other answers use outmoded or incorrect classes.
Avoid the old date-time classes such as java.util.Date/.Calendar. They have proven to be poorly designed, confusing, and troublesome.
java.time
The java.time framework comes built into Java 8 and later. Much of the functionality is backported to Java 6 & 7 and further adapted to Android. Made by the some of the same folks as had made Joda-Time.
An Instant is a moment on the timeline in UTC with a resolution of nanoseconds. Its epoch is first moment of 1970 in UTC.
Assuming your input data is a count of milliseconds from 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z (not clear in the Question), then we can easily instantiate an Instant.
Instant instant = Instant.ofEpochMilli( 1_322_018_752_992L );
instant.toString(): 2011-11-23T03:25:52.992Z
The Z in that standard ISO 8601 formatted string is short for Zulu and means UTC.
Apply a time zone using a proper time zone name, to get a ZonedDateTime.
ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.of( "Asia/Kolkata" ) ;
ZonedDateTime zdt = instant.atZone( zoneId );
See this code run live at IdeOne.com.
Asia/Kolkata time zone ?
I am guessing your are had an India time zone affecting your code. We see here that adjusting into Asia/Kolkata time zone renders the same time-of-day as you report, 08:55 which is five and a half hours ahead of our UTC value 03:25.
2011-11-23T08:55:52.992+05:30[Asia/Kolkata]
Default zone
You can apply the current default time zone of the JVM. Beware that the default can change at any moment during runtime. Any code in any thread of any app within the JVM can change the current default. If important, ask the user for their desired/expected time zone.
ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.systemDefault();
ZonedDateTime zdt = ZonedDateTime.ofInstant( instant , zoneId );
About java.time
The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.
The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.
To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.
With a JDBC driver complying with JDBC 4.2 or later, you may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. No need for strings or java.sql.* classes.
Where to obtain the java.time classes?
Java SE 8, Java SE 9, and later
Built-in.
Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
Java 9 adds some minor features and fixes.
Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
Much of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
Android
Later versions of Android bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android, the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….
The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.

The easiest way to do this is to use the Joda DateTime class and specify both the timestamp in milliseconds and the DateTimeZone you want.
I strongly recommend avoiding the built-in Java Date and Calendar classes; they're terrible.

If the millis value is number of millis since Jan 1, 1970 GMT, as is standard for the JVM, then that is independent of time zone. If you want to format it with a specific time zone, you can simply convert it to a GregorianCalendar object and set the timezone. After that there are numerous ways to format it.

My Solution
public class CalendarUtils {
public static String dateFormat = "dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm";
private static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(dateFormat);
public static String ConvertMilliSecondsToFormattedDate(String milliSeconds){
Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
calendar.setTimeInMillis(Long.parseLong(milliSeconds));
return simpleDateFormat.format(calendar.getTime());
}
}

Easiest way:
private String millisToDate(long millis){
return DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.SHORT).format(millis);
//You can use DateFormat.LONG instead of SHORT
}

I do it like this:
static String formatDate(long dateInMillis) {
Date date = new Date(dateInMillis);
return DateFormat.getDateInstance().format(date);
}
You can also use getDateInstance(int style) with following parameters:
DateFormat.SHORT
DateFormat.MEDIUM
DateFormat.LONG
DateFormat.FULL
DateFormat.DEFAULT

The SimpleDateFormat class has a method called SetTimeZone(TimeZone) that is inherited from the DateFormat class. http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/text/DateFormat.html

You can try java.time api;
Instant date = Instant.ofEpochMilli(1549362600000l);
LocalDateTime utc = LocalDateTime.ofInstant(date, ZoneOffset.UTC);

Below is my solution to get date from miliseconds to date format. You have to use Joda Library to get this code run.
import java.util.GregorianCalendar;
import java.util.TimeZone;
import org.joda.time.DateTime;
import org.joda.time.DateTimeZone;
import org.joda.time.format.DateTimeFormat;
import org.joda.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
public class time {
public static void main(String args[]){
String str = "1431601084000";
long geTime= Long.parseLong(str);
GregorianCalendar calendar = new GregorianCalendar(TimeZone.getTimeZone("US/Central"));
calendar.setTimeInMillis(geTime);
DateTime jodaTime = new DateTime(geTime,
DateTimeZone.forTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("US/Central")));
DateTimeFormatter parser1 = DateTimeFormat.forPattern("yyyy-MM-dd");
System.out.println("Get Time : "+parser1.print(jodaTime));
}
}

public static String getFormatTimeWithTZ(Date currentTime) {
SimpleDateFormat timeZoneDate = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE, dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm a", Locale.getDefault());
return timeZoneDate.format(currentTime);
}
Output is
Mon,01-03-2021 07:37 PM
and
public static String getFormatTimeWithTZ(Date currentTime) {
SimpleDateFormat timeZoneDate = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE, dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm ", Locale.getDefault());
return timeZoneDate.format(currentTime);
}
output is
Mon,01-03-2021 19:37
if you do not want the Days Then Remove EEE,
if you do not want the Date Then Remove dd-MM-yyyy
If you want Time in Hour, Minutes, Second, Millisecond then Use HH:mm:ss.SSS
and Call this method where you want
getFormatTimeWithTZ(Mydate)
where
Date Mydate = new Date(System.currentTimeMillis());

public static LocalDateTime timestampToLocalDateTime(Long timestamp) {
return LocalDateTime.ofInstant(Instant.ofEpochMilli(timestamp), TimeZone.getDefault().toZoneId());
}

How can I parse UTC date/time (String) into something more readable?

I have a String of a date and time like this: 2011-04-15T20:08:18Z. I don't know much about date/time formats, but I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's its UTC format.
My question: what's the easiest way to parse this to a more normal format, in Java?

tl;dr
String output =
Instant.parse ( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z" )
.atZone ( ZoneId.of ( "America/Montreal" ) )
.format (
DateTimeFormatter.ofLocalizedDateTime ( FormatStyle.FULL )
.withLocale ( Locale.CANADA_FRENCH )
)
;
vendredi 15 avril 2011 16 h 08 EDT
Details
The answer by Josh Pinter is correct, but could be even simpler.
java.time
In Java 8 and later, the bundled java.util.Date/Calendar classes are supplanted by the java.time framework defined by JSR 310. Those classes are inspired by Joda-Time but are entirely re-architected.
The java.time framework is the official successor to Joda-Time. The creators of Joda-Time have advised we should migrate to java.time as soon as is convenient. Joda-Time continues to be updated and tweaked, but further innovation will be done only in java.time and its extensions in the ThreeTen-Extra project.
The bulk of java.time functionality has been back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in the ThreeTen-Backport project, and further adapted to Android in ThreeTenABP project.
The equivalent for the Joda-Time code above is quite similar. Concepts are similar. And like Joda-Time, the java.time classes by default use ISO 8601 formats when parsing/generating textual representations of date-time values.
An Instant is a moment on the timeline in UTC with a resolution of nanoseconds (versus milliseconds used by Joda-Time & java.util.Date).
Instant instant = Instant.parse( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z" );
Apply a time zone (ZoneId) to get a ZonedDateTime.
ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.of( "Asia/Kolkata" );
ZonedDateTime zdt = ZonedDateTime.ofInstant( instant , zoneId );
Adjust into yet another time zone.
ZoneId zoneId_NewYork = ZoneId.of( "America/New_York" );
ZonedDateTime zdt_NewYork = zdt.withZoneSameInstant( zoneId_NewYork );
To create strings in other formats beyond those of the toString methods, use the java.time.format classes. You can specify your own formatting pattern or let java.time localize automatically. Specify a Locale for (a) the human language used in translation of name of month/day-of-week, and (b) cultural norms for period-versus-comma, order of the parts, and such.
DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofLocalizedDateTime( FormatStyle.FULL );
formatter = formatter.withLocale( Locale.US );
String output = zdt_NewYork.format( formatter );
Friday, April 15, 2011 4:08:18 PM EDT
About java.time
The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.
The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.
To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.
You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes.
Where to obtain the java.time classes?
Java SE 8, Java SE 9, Java SE 10, and later
Built-in.
Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
Java 9 adds some minor features and fixes.
Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
Much of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
Android
Later versions of Android bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android (<26), the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….
The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.
Joda-Time
UPDATE: The Joda-Time project is now in maintenance mode, with the team advising migration to the java.time classes. This section left intact for history.
Pass String To Constructor
Joda-Time can take that string directly. Simply pass to a constructor on the DateTime class.
Joda-Time understands the standard ISO 8601 format of date-times, and uses that format as its default.
Example Code
Here is example code in Joda-Time 2.3 running in Java 7 on a Mac.
I show how to pass the string to a DateTime constructor, in two ways: With and without a time zone. Specifying a time zone solves many problems people encounter in doing date-time work. If left unspecified, you get the default time zone which can bring surprises when placed into production.
I also show how specify no time zone offset (UTC/GMT) using the built-in constant DateTimeZone.UTC. That's what the Z on the end, short for Zulu time, means: No time zone offset (00:00).
// © 2013 Basil Bourque. This source code may be used freely forever by anyone taking full responsibility for doing so.
// import org.joda.time.*;
// import org.joda.time.format.*;
// Default time zone.
DateTime dateTime = new DateTime( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z" );
// Specified time zone.
DateTime dateTimeInKolkata = new DateTime( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z", DateTimeZone.forID( "Asia/Kolkata" ) );
DateTime dateTimeInNewYork = new DateTime( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z", DateTimeZone.forID( "America/New_York" ) );
// In UTC/GMT (no time zone offset).
DateTime dateTimeUtc = dateTimeInKolkata.toDateTime( DateTimeZone.UTC );
// Output in localized format.
DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormat.shortDateTime().withLocale( Locale.US );
String output_US = formatter.print( dateTimeInNewYork );
Dump to console…
System.out.println("dateTime: " + dateTime );
System.out.println("dateTimeInKolkata: " + dateTimeInKolkata );
System.out.println("dateTimeInNewYork: " + dateTimeInNewYork );
System.out.println("dateTimeUtc: " + dateTimeUtc );
System.out.println("dateTime in US format: " + output_US );
When run…
dateTime: 2011-04-15T13:08:18.000-07:00
dateTimeInKolkata: 2011-04-16T01:38:18.000+05:30
dateTimeInNewYork: 2011-04-15T16:08:18.000-04:00
dateTimeUtc: 2011-04-15T20:08:18.000Z
dateTime in US format: 4/15/11 4:08 PM

Use JodaTime
I kept getting parsing errors using the other solutions with the Z at the end of the format.
Instead, I opted to leverage JodaTime's excellent parsing functionality and was able to do the following very easily:
String timestamp = "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z";
DateTime dateTime = ISODateTimeFormat.dateTimeParser().parseDateTime(timestamp);
This correctly recognizes the UTC timezone and allows you to then use JodaTime's extensive manipulation methods to get what you want out of it.
Hope this helps others.

Already has lot of answer but just wanted to update with java 8 in case any one faced issues while parsing string date.
Generally we face two problems with dates
Parsing String to Date
Display Date in desired string format
DateTimeFormatter class in Java 8 can be used for both of these purpose.
Below methods try to provide solution to these issues.
Method 1:
Convert your UTC string to Instant. Using Instant you can create Date for any time-zone by providing time-zone string and use DateTimeFormatter to format date for display as you wish.
String dateString = "2016-07-13T18:08:50.118Z";
String tz = "America/Mexico_City";
DateTimeFormatter dtf = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("MMM d yyyy hh:mm a");
ZoneId zoneId = ZoneId.of(tz);
Instant instant = Instant.parse(dateString);
ZonedDateTime dateTimeInTz =ZonedDateTime.ofInstant(instant, zoneId);
System.out.println(dateTimeInTz.format(dtf));
Method 2:
Use DateTimeFormatter built in constants e.g ISO_INSTANT to parse string to LocalDate.
ISO_INSTANT can parse dates of pattern
yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssX e.g '2011-12-03T10:15:30Z'
LocalDate parsedDate
= LocalDate.parse(dateString, DateTimeFormatter.ISO_INSTANT);
DateTimeFormatter displayFormatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy MM dd");
System.out.println(parsedDate.format(displayFormatter));
Method 3:
If your date string has much precision of time e.g it captures fraction of seconds as well as in this case 2016-07-13T18:08:50.118Z then method 1 will work but method 2 will not work. If you try to parse it will throw DateTimeException Since ISO_INSTANT formatter will not be able to parse fraction of seconds as you can see from its pattern.
In this case you will have to create a custom DateTimeFormatter by providing date pattern as below.
LocalDate localDate
= LocalDate.parse(date, DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSX"));
Taken from a blog link written by me.

The Java 7 version of SimpleDateFormat supports ISO-8601 time zones using the uppercase letter X.
String string = "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z";
DateFormat iso8601 = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssX");
Date date = iso8601.parse(string);
If you're stuck with Java 6 or earlier, the answer recommending JodaTime is a safe bet.

You have to give the following format:
SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss");
Date parse = simpleDateFormat.parse( "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z" );

I had a parse error in Andrew White solution.
Adding the single quote around the Z solved the issue
DateFormat m_ISO8601Local = new SimpleDateFormat ("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss'Z'");

the pattern in #khmarbaise answer worked for me, here's the utility method I extracted (note that the Z is omitted from the pattern string):
/**
* Converts an ISO-8601 formatted UTC timestamp.
*
* #return The parsed {#link Date}, or null.
*/
#Nullable
public static Date fromIsoUtcString(String isoUtcString) {
DateFormat isoUtcFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss", Locale.getDefault());
isoUtcFormat.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("UTC"));
try {
return isoUtcFormat.parse(isoUtcString);
} catch (ParseException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
return null;
}
}

For all the older versions of JDK (6 down) it may be useful.
Getting rid of trailing 'Z' and replacing it literally with 'UTC' timezone display name - then parsing the whole string using proper simple date formatter.
String timeZuluVal = "2011-04-15T20:08:18Z";
timeZuluVal = timeZuluVal.substring( 0, timeZuluVal.length() - 2 ); // strip 'Z';
timeZuluVal += " " + TimeZone.getTimeZone( "UTC" ).getDisplayName();
DateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat( "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss zzzz" );
Date dateVal = simpleDateFormat.parse( timeZuluVal );

Joda Time
public static final String SERVER_TIME_FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss";
public static DateTime getDateTimeFromUTC(String time) {
try {
DateTimeFormatter dateTimeFormatter = DateTimeFormat.forPattern(SERVER_TIME_FORMAT).withZoneUTC();
Calendar localTime = Calendar.getInstance();
DateTimeZone currentTimeZone = DateTimeZone.forTimeZone(localTime.getTimeZone());
return dateTimeFormatter.parseDateTime(time).toDateTime().withZone(currentTimeZone);
} catch (Exception e) {
return DateTime.now();
}
}