We Keep Coding

Convert string in iso date format to milliseconds. Iso date format includes ("yyyy-MM-dd") and doesn't have timezone

Struggling to convert string in iso date format to milliseconds. I know there are similar questions to this, but I couldn't find one that included "yyyy-MM-dd" and didn't have timezone.
Short snippet of code for reference.
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();
String dateformat = DateTimeFormatter.ISO_DATE.format(today);
System.out.println(dateformat); }
}

tl;dr
You asked:
Convert string in iso date format to milliseconds. Iso date format includes (“yyyy-MM-dd”) and doesn't have timezone
OffsetDateTime // Represent a moment as a date, a time, and an offset.
.of( // Factory method to instantiate a `OffsetDateTime` from a date, a time, and an offset.
LocalDate.parse( "2021-01-23" ) , // Parse your input text.
LocalTime.MIN , // Constant for 00:00.
ZoneOffset.UTC // Constant representing an offset-from-UTC of zero hours-minutes-seconds.
) // Returns an `OffsetDateTime` object.
.toInstant() // Returns an `Instant` object.
.toEpochMilli() // Returns a `long` representing a count of milliseconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z.
See this code run live at IdeOne.com.
1611360000000
Details
You said:
string in iso date format
LocalDate localDate = LocalDate.of( 2021 , Month.JANUARY , 23 ) ;
String output = localDate.toString() ; // Uses ISO 8601 format by default.
output: 2021-01-23
You said:
convert string … milliseconds
Parse string as LocalDate.
LocalDate localDate = LocalDate.parse( "2021-01-23" ) ;
For milliseconds since the epoch reference of first moment of 1970 in UTC, we need a time of day. For time-of-day, use LocalTime class with its constant LocalTime.MIN.
LocalTime localTime = LocalTime.MIN ;
Combine with UTC as the offset to get a OffsetDateTime object, which represents a moment, a point on the timeline.
OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.of( localDate , localTime , ZoneOffset.UTC ) ;
Extract an Instant from the OffsetDateTime.
Instant instant = odt.toInstant() ;
Interrogate the Instant for a count of milliseconds from epoch reference 1970-01-01T00:00Z.
long millisecondsSinceEpoch = instant.toEpochMilli() ;
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 adds 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 bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android (<26), the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….

Converting time to UTC time goes the opposite way

I'm trying to parse an offset time using Java 8 DateTimeFormatter.
I live in EST time which is UTC-5, so when I try to convert
2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00 should be --> 2019-01-22T18:09:54.620
However, with my code, it gets the current time and goes back 5 hours, resulting in 2019-01-22 08:09:54.620
Code:
import java.sql.Timestamp
import java.time._
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter
import scala.util.{Failure, Success, Try}
class MyTimeFormatter(parser: DateTimeFormatter) {
def parse(input: String): Try[Timestamp] = {
Try(new Timestamp(Instant.from(parser.withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC).parse(input)).toEpochMilli))
}
}
Test:
new MyTimeFormatter(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSxxx")).parse("2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00") shouldEqual Timestamp.valueOf("2019-01-22T18:09:54.620")
where parser is of type DateTimeFormatter and input string is just "2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00"
I want to use this parser.parse method and not with specific temporalAccessors like OffsetDateTime.parse(input, parser) so I can handle all cases like LocalTime, LocalDateTime, ZonedDateTime, OffsetDateTime, etc..
It seems like the code just grabs the time, subtracts the offset, and brands it as UTC instead of calculating the offset with respect to UTC.
Also, is there a way to apply this UTC conversion only if the input format is of ZonedDateTime/OffsetDateTime format? If I input a LocalDateTime (which doesn't have an offset) such as 2017-01-01 12:45:00 the parser will still apply the UTC offset conversion because I told the parser to parse with zone UTC.

tl;dr
Use modern java.time classes. Convert to legacy class only if necessary to work with old code.
Specifically, parse your input string as a OffsetDateTime object, adjust to UTC by extracting an Instant, and lastly, convert to java.sql.Timestamp (only if you must).
java.sql.Timestamp ts = // Avoid using this badly-designed legacy class if at all possible.
Timestamp // You can convert back-and-forth between legacy and modern classes.
.from( // New method added to legacy class to convert from modern class.
OffsetDateTime // Represents a moment with an offset-of-UTC, a number of some hours-minutes-seconds ahead or behind UTC.
.parse( "2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00" ) // Text in standard ISO 8601 format can be parsed by default, without a formatting pattern.
.toInstant() // Adjust from an offset to UTC (an offset of zero) by extracting an `Instant`.
) // Returns a `Timestamp` object. Same moment as both the `OffsetDateTime` and `Instant` objects.
;
See this code run live at IdeOne.com, resulting in:
ts.toString(): 2019-01-22 18:09:54.62
If using JDBC 4.2 or later, skip the Timestamp altogether.
myPreparedStatement.setObject( … , myOffsetDateTime ) ;
Zulu
2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00 should be --> 2019-01-22T18:09:54.620
If you meant that second value to represent a moment in UTC, append the offset-from-UTC to indicate that fact. Either +00:00 or Z (pronounced “Zulu”): 2019-01-22T18:09:54.620Z.
Reporting a moment without an offset-from-UTC or time zone indicator is like reporting an amount of money without a currency indicator.
OffsetDateTime
A string with an offset-from-UTC should be parsed as a OffsetDateTime object.
Your input string happens to comply with the ISO 8601 standard formats for textual date-time values. The java.time classes use ISO 8601 formats by default when parsing/generating strings. So no need to specify a formatting pattern.
OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse( "2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00" ) ;
Timestamp
Apparently you want a java.sql.Timestamp object. This is one of the terrible date-time classes bundled with the earliest versions of Java. These classes are now legacy, supplanted entirely by the modern java.time classes with the adoption of JSR 310. Avoid these legacy classes whenever possible.
If you must have a Timestamp to interoperate with old code not yet updated to work with java.time, you can convert. To convert, call new methods added to the old classes.
Instant
The java.sql.Timestamp class carries a from( Instant ) method. An Instant is a moment in UTC. To adjust from the offset of our OffsetDateTime to UTC, just extract an Instant.
Instant instant = odt.toInstant() ;
java.sql.Timestamp ts = Timestamp.from( instant ) ;
We have three objects ( odt, instant, & ts ) that all represent the same moment. The first has a different wall-clock time. But all three are the same simultaneous point on the timeline.
JDBC 4.2
As of JDBC 4.2, we can directly exchange java.time objects with the database. So no need to use Timestamp.
myPreparedStatement.setObject( … , odt ) ;
…and…
OffsetDateTime odt = myResultSet.getObject( … , OffsetDateTime.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, Java SE 10, Java SE 11, and later - 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
Most 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.

While I cannot reproduce your issue precisely (even with changing my clock to EST), this is what I am observing:
Instant instant = Instant.from(parser.withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC).parse("2019-01-22T13:09:54.620-05:00"));
This is producing the time you would expect (2019-01-22T18:09:54.620Z).
Timestamp ts = new Timestamp(instant.toEpochMilli());
Because this is based on java.util.Date, which displays as your local time.
A better way to convert an Instant to a Timestamp is via the LocalDateTime, like so:
Timestamp ts = Timestamp.valueOf(instant.atZone(ZoneOffset.UTC).toLocalDateTime());

Java - Parsing a JLabel to java.util.Date

I'm simply trying to parse a string in JLabel to a date using a simpleDateFormatter(). Based On everything I've searched online, this code should work. However, I'm receiving the "cannot find symbol - method parse(java.lang.String)" error during compiliation. Any advice on how to resolve the issue would be greatly appreciated.
The JLabel in question was populated with a date from a database query using JDBC.
Additionally, I'm aware that that java.util.Date has been deprecated, but would still like to use it for this.
Code Snippet:
private Format formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm");
private JLabel dateDataLabel = new JLabel("");
private void setAndParseLabel()
{
dateDataLabel.setText(formatter.format(validatePass.eventDate));
java.util.Date aDate = formatter.parse(dateDataLabel.getText());
}

tl;dr
You are ignoring crucial issue of time zone. You are unwittingly parsing the input as a value in UTC.
You are using terrible old date-time classes that were supplanted years ago. Use java.time instead.
Example code:
LocalDateTime
.parse(
"2018-01-23 13:45".replace( " " , "T" ) // Comply with standard ISO 8601 format by replacing SPACE with `T`. Standard formats are used by default in java.time when parsing/generating strings.
) // Returns a `LocalDateTime` object. This is *not* a moment, is *not* a point on the timeline.
.atZone( // Apply a time zone to determine a moment, an actual point on the timeline.
ZoneId.of( "America/Montreal" )
) // Returns a `ZonedDateTime` object.
.toInstant() // Adjust from a time zone to UTC, if need be.
java.time
The modern approach uses the java.time classes.
Your input string is almost in standard ISO 8601 format. To fully comply, replace that SPACE in the middle with a T.
String input = "2018-01-23 13:45".replace( " " , "T" ) ;
Parse as a LocalDateTime because your input has no indicator of time zone or offset-from-UTC.
LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.parse( input ) ;
A LocalDateTime by definition does not represent a moment, is not a point on the timeline. It represents potential moments along a range of about 26-27 hours (the range of time zones around the globe).
To determine a moment, assign a time zone (ZoneId) to get a ZonedDateTime object.
Specify a proper time zone name in the format of continent/region, such as America/Montreal, Africa/Casablanca, or Pacific/Auckland. Never use the 3-4 letter abbreviation such as EST or IST as they are not true time zones, not standardized, and not even unique(!).
ZoneId z = ZoneId.of( "Pacific/Auckland" ) ;
ZonedDateTime zdt = ldt.atZone( z ) ;
If you wish to see that same moment through the wall-clock time of UTC, extract an Instant.
Instant instant = zdt.toInstant() ; // Adjust from some time zone to UTC.
Avoid java.util.Date where feasible. But if you must interoperate with old code not yet updated to java.time, you can convert back-and-forth. Call new conversion methods added to the old classes.
java.util.Date d = java.util.Date.from( instant ) ; // Going the other direction: `myJavaUtilDate.toInstant()`
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, Java SE 11, and later - 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
Most 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.

java.text.Format does not have method parse, so the code does not compile.
You can refer it by java.text.DateFormat:
private DateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm");

There is no method parse in java.text.Format. Use java.text.DateFormat instead:
private DateFormat formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm");

How to convert a string to date with UTC/GMT timezone

I have an android app that receives a string in this format:"MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm:ss" from my server. I want to convert this string to a Date object with UTC as timezone since the time in the string is UTC. I've already checked several similar questions but didn't find my answer
Here is what I'm using currently:
SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm:ss");
Date date = new Date();
try {
date = format.parse(itemContent [3]);
entity.setValidTill(date);
}catch (Exception e){
}
But what it does when I print that date with Log is show it as:
Sun Aug 27 15:00:00 GMT+04:00 2017
I want it to be:
Sun Aug 27 15:00:00 GMT 00:00 2017
So here is the main question how to get DateTime for UTC using a string with format as above?
Edit:
Just put it in a better context. I'm trying to get users to see the difference between current datetime & the that datetime saved in server. So my solution was to get gmt time for users & compare with the server time(which is gmt) so everyone see same difference regardless of their timezone. With C# you can get DateTime.UtcNow while with java I couldn't find an alternative

Briefly, as your Question is really a duplicate of many others…
You are using troublesome old date-time classes that are now legacy, supplanted by the java.time classes.
Parse your input string as a LocalDateTime as it lacks any indicator of offset-from-UTC or time zone.
Define a formatter to parse your input string.
String input = "08-27-2017 15:00:00" ;
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "MM-dd-uuuu HH:mm:ss" ) ;
LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.parse( input , f ) ;
ldt.toString(): 2017-08-27T15:00
A LocalDateTime is not a moment on the timeline, only a rough idea about a range of possible moments. Has no meaning without the context of an offset (or time zone).
If you are certain that input was intended for UTC, assign the constant ZoneOffset.UTC for a OffsetDateTime.
OffsetDateTime odt = ldt.atOffset( ZoneOffset.UTC ) ;
odt.toString(): 2017-08-27T15:00Z
To calculate a delta between that moment and the current moment, use the Period class for coarser granularity in your span of time, or Duration for finer granularity. Both classes generate strings in standard ISO 8601 format of PnYnMnDTnHnMnS.
OffsetDateTime now = OffsetDateTime.now( ZoneOffset.UTC ) ;
Duration d = Duration.between( odt , now ) ;
now.toString(): 2017-08-27T21:16:56.396Z
d.toString(): PT6H16M56.396S
See this code run live at IdeOne.com.
In the standard strings seen above, the Z is short for Zulu and means UTC.
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….

just add this code under the first line of your code:
format.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("UTC"));

Show ISO-8601 date+time in current time?

for example, 2012-10-30T22:30:00+0300 need to be shown in 2012-10-30T22:30:00-0600 (the local time for example)
need to implement in java (android app)
how can I manage doing that?

That's what a Date is: a universal instant in time. Choose the appropriate time zone when displaying it, and you'll have the time string you want:
Date now = new Date();
DateFormat df = df.getDateTimeInstance();
System.out.println(df.format(now)); // now, displayed in the current time zone (examle: Germany)
df.setTimeZone(theLondonTimeZone);
System.out.println(df.format(now)); // now, displayed in the time zone of London

tl;dr
OffsetDateTime
.parse(
"2012-10-30T22:30:00+0300" ,
DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "uuuu-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssX" )
)
.toInstant()
.atZone(
ZoneId.of( "Europe/London" )
)
.toString()
2012-10-30T19:30Z[Europe/London]
java.time
The modern solution uses the java.time classes.
Define a formatter to match your input.
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "uuuu-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssX" ) ;
Parse the input as a OffsetDateTime.
String input = "2012-11-05T13:00:00+0200" ;
OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse( input , f );
odt.toString(): 2012-11-05T13:00+02:00
Tip: Always include the COLON character as a delimiter between the hours and minutes of the offset. We could then skip the custom formatting pattern: OffsetDateTime.parse( "2012-11-05T13:00+02:00" ).
Adjust to UTC, an offset of zero hours-minutes-seconds, by extracting a Instant object.
Instant instant = odt.toInstant() ;
In standard ISO 8601 format, the Z on the end means UTC (offset of zero). Pronounced “Zulu”.
instant.toString(): 2012-11-05T11:00:00Z
Adjust into London time.
ZoneId zLondon = ZoneId.of( "Europe/London" ) ;
ZonedDateTime zdtLondon = instant.atZone( zLondon ) ;
zdtLondon.toString(): 2012-11-05T11:00Z[Europe/London]
Adjust to another time zone.
ZoneId zMontreal = ZoneId.of( "America/Montreal" );
ZonedDateTime zdtMontreal = instant.atZone( zMontreal );
zdtMontreal.toString(): 2012-11-05T06:00-05:00[America/Montreal]
All these objects (odt, instant, zdtLondon, and zdtMontreal) represent the very same simultaneous moment, the same point on the timeline. Same moment, different wall-clock time.
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 adds 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 bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
For earlier Android (<26), the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….
https://i.stack.imgur.com/eKgbN.png
Table of which java.time library to use with which version of Java or Android
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.

Using joda time library solved my problem optimally, using dateTime & dateTime zone like following:
DateTimeFormatter parser2 = ISODateTimeFormat.dateTimeNoMillis();
DateTime dt = new DateTime();
DateTime dt2 = new DateTime();
dt = DateTime.parse("2012-11-05T13:00:00+0200");
System.out.println(dt.toString());
dt2 = DateTime.parse("2012-11-05T21:45:00-08:00");
DateTimeZone dtz = dt2.getZone();
System.out.println(dt.withZone(dtz).toString());