Date Format Pattern Syntax

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Trail: Internationalization
Lesson: Formatting

Date Format Pattern Syntax

You can design your own format patterns for dates and times from the list of symbols in the following table:

Symbol Meaning Presentation Example

G era designator Text AD

y year Number 1996

M month in year Text & Number July & 07

d day in month Number 10

h hour in am/pm (1-12) Number 12

H hour in day (0-23) Number 0

m minute in hour Number 30

s second in minute Number 55

S millisecond Number 978

E day in week Text Tuesday

D day in year Number 189

F day of week in month Number 2 (2nd Wed in July)

w week in year Number 27

W week in month Number 2

a am/pm marker Text PM

k hour in day (1-24) Number 24

K hour in am/pm (0-11) Number 0

z time zone Text Pacific Standard Time

' escape for text Delimiter (none)

' single quote Literal '

Characters that are not letters are treated as quoted text. That is, they will appear in the formatted text even if they are not enclosed within single quotes.
The number of symbol letters you specify also determines the format. For example, if the "zz" pattern results in "PDT," then the "zzzz" pattern generates "Pacific Daylight Time." The following table summarizes these rules:

Presentation Number of Symbols Result

Text 1 - 3 abbreviated form, if one exists

Text >= 4 full form

Number minimum number of digits is required shorter numbers are padded with zeros (for a year, if the count of 'y' is 2, then the year is truncated to 2 digits)

Text & Number 1 - 2 text form

Text & Number 3 number form

Symbol	Meaning	Presentation	Example
G	era designator	Text	AD
y	year	Number	1996
M	month in year	Text & Number	July & 07
d	day in month	Number	10
h	hour in am/pm (1-12)	Number	12
H	hour in day (0-23)	Number	0
m	minute in hour	Number	30
s	second in minute	Number	55
S	millisecond	Number	978
E	day in week	Text	Tuesday
D	day in year	Number	189
F	day of week in month	Number	2 (2nd Wed in July)
w	week in year	Number	27
W	week in month	Number	2
a	am/pm marker	Text	PM
k	hour in day (1-24)	Number	24
K	hour in am/pm (0-11)	Number	0
z	time zone	Text	Pacific Standard Time
'	escape for text	Delimiter	(none)
'	single quote	Literal	'

Presentation	Number of Symbols	Result
Text	1 - 3	abbreviated form, if one exists
Text	>= 4	full form
Number	minimum number of digits is required	shorter numbers are padded with zeros (for a year, if the count of 'y' is 2, then the year is truncated to 2 digits)
Text & Number	1 - 2	text form
Text & Number	3	number form

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