Class DateFormatSymbols

public class DateFormatSymbols
extends Object
implements Serializable, Cloneable

DateFormatSymbols is a public class for encapsulating localizable date-time formatting data, such as the names of the months, the names of the days of the week, and the time zone data. SimpleDateFormat uses DateFormatSymbols to encapsulate this information.

Typically you shouldn't use DateFormatSymbols directly. Rather, you are encouraged to create a date-time formatter with the DateFormat class's factory methods: getTimeInstance, getDateInstance, or getDateTimeInstance. These methods automatically create a DateFormatSymbols for the formatter so that you don't have to. After the formatter is created, you may modify its format pattern using the setPattern method. For more information about creating formatters using DateFormat's factory methods, see DateFormat.

If you decide to create a date-time formatter with a specific format pattern for a specific locale, you can do so with:

new SimpleDateFormat(aPattern, DateFormatSymbols.getInstance(aLocale)).

DateFormatSymbols objects are cloneable. When you obtain a DateFormatSymbols object, feel free to modify the date-time formatting data. For instance, you can replace the localized date-time format pattern characters with the ones that you feel easy to remember. Or you can change the representative cities to your favorite ones.

New DateFormatSymbols subclasses may be added to support SimpleDateFormat for date-time formatting for additional locales.

Constructors

DateFormatSymbols

public DateFormatSymbols()

Throws:

MissingResourceException - if the resources for the default locale cannot be found or cannot be loaded.

See Also:

getInstance(), Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category), Locale.Category.FORMAT

DateFormatSymbols

public DateFormatSymbols(Locale locale)

Construct a DateFormatSymbols object by loading format data from resources for the given locale. This constructor can only construct instances for the locales supported by the Java runtime environment, not for those supported by installed DateFormatSymbolsProvider implementations. For full locale coverage, use the getInstance method.

Parameters:

locale - the desired locale

Throws:

MissingResourceException - if the resources for the specified locale cannot be found or cannot be loaded.

See Also:

getInstance(Locale)

Methods

getAvailableLocales

public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()

Returns an array of all locales for which the getInstance methods of this class can return localized instances. The returned array represents the union of locales supported by the Java runtime and by installed DateFormatSymbolsProvider implementations. It must contain at least a Locale instance equal to Locale.US.

Returns:

An array of locales for which localized DateFormatSymbols instances are available.

Since:

1.6

getInstance

public static final DateFormatSymbols getInstance()

Returns:

a DateFormatSymbols instance.

Since:

1.6

See Also:

Locale.getDefault(java.util.Locale.Category), Locale.Category.FORMAT

getInstance

public static final DateFormatSymbols getInstance(Locale locale)

Gets the DateFormatSymbols instance for the specified locale. This method provides access to DateFormatSymbols instances for locales supported by the Java runtime itself as well as for those supported by installed DateFormatSymbolsProvider implementations.

Parameters:

locale - the given locale.

Returns:

a DateFormatSymbols instance.

Throws:

NullPointerException - if locale is null

Since:

1.6

getEras

public String[] getEras()

Gets era strings. For example: "AD" and "BC".

Returns:

the era strings.

setEras

public void setEras(String[] newEras)

Sets era strings. For example: "AD" and "BC".

Parameters:

newEras - the new era strings.

getMonths

public String[] getMonths()

Returns:

the month strings.

setMonths

public void setMonths(String[] newMonths)

Sets month strings. For example: "January", "February", etc.

Parameters:

newMonths - the new month strings.

getShortMonths

public String[] getShortMonths()

Returns:

the short month strings.

setShortMonths

public void setShortMonths(String[] newShortMonths)

Sets short month strings. For example: "Jan", "Feb", etc.

Parameters:

newShortMonths - the new short month strings.

getWeekdays

public String[] getWeekdays()

Gets weekday strings. For example: "Sunday", "Monday", etc.

Returns:

the weekday strings. Use Calendar.SUNDAY, Calendar.MONDAY, etc. to index the result array.

setWeekdays

public void setWeekdays(String[] newWeekdays)

Sets weekday strings. For example: "Sunday", "Monday", etc.

Parameters:

newWeekdays - the new weekday strings. The array should be indexed by Calendar.SUNDAY, Calendar.MONDAY, etc.

getShortWeekdays

public String[] getShortWeekdays()

Gets short weekday strings. For example: "Sun", "Mon", etc.

Returns:

the short weekday strings. Use Calendar.SUNDAY, Calendar.MONDAY, etc. to index the result array.

setShortWeekdays

public void setShortWeekdays(String[] newShortWeekdays)

Sets short weekday strings. For example: "Sun", "Mon", etc.

Parameters:

newShortWeekdays - the new short weekday strings. The array should be indexed by Calendar.SUNDAY, Calendar.MONDAY, etc.

getAmPmStrings

public String[] getAmPmStrings()

Gets ampm strings. For example: "AM" and "PM".

Returns:

the ampm strings.

setAmPmStrings

public void setAmPmStrings(String[] newAmpms)

Sets ampm strings. For example: "AM" and "PM".

Parameters:

newAmpms - the new ampm strings.

getZoneStrings

public String[][] getZoneStrings()

Returns:

the time zone strings.

See Also:

setZoneStrings(String[][])

setZoneStrings

public void setZoneStrings(String[][] newZoneStrings)

Sets time zone strings. The argument must be a two-dimensional array of strings of size n by m, where m is at least 5. Each of the n rows is an entry containing the localized names for a single TimeZone. Each such row contains (with i ranging from 0..n-1):

• zoneStrings[i][0] - time zone ID
• zoneStrings[i][1] - long name of zone in standard time
• zoneStrings[i][2] - short name of zone in standard time
• zoneStrings[i][3] - long name of zone in daylight saving time
• zoneStrings[i][4] - short name of zone in daylight saving time

The zone ID is not localized; it's one of the valid IDs of the TimeZone class that are not custom IDs. All other entries are localized names.

Parameters:

newZoneStrings - the new time zone strings.

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if the length of any row in newZoneStrings is less than 5

NullPointerException - if newZoneStrings is null

See Also:

getZoneStrings()

getLocalPatternChars

public String getLocalPatternChars()

Gets localized date-time pattern characters. For example: 'u', 't', etc.

Returns:

the localized date-time pattern characters.

setLocalPatternChars

public void setLocalPatternChars(String newLocalPatternChars)

Sets localized date-time pattern characters. For example: 'u', 't', etc.

Parameters:

newLocalPatternChars - the new localized date-time pattern characters.

clone

public Object clone()

Overrides Cloneable

Overrides:

clone in class Object

Returns:

a clone of this instance.

See Also:

Cloneable

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Override hashCode. Generates a hash code for the DateFormatSymbols object.

Overrides:

hashCode in class Object

Returns:

a hash code value for this object.

See Also:

Object.equals(java.lang.Object), System.identityHashCode(java.lang.Object)

equals

public boolean equals(Object obj)

Override equals

Overrides:

equals in class Object

Parameters:

obj - the reference object with which to compare.

Returns:

true if this object is the same as the obj argument; false otherwise.

See Also:

Object.hashCode(), HashMap