Class DateTimeSyntax

public abstract class DateTimeSyntax
extends Object
implements Serializable, Cloneable

Class DateTimeSyntax is an abstract base class providing the common implementation of all attributes whose value is a date and time.

Under the hood, a date-time attribute is stored as a value of class java.util.Date. You can get a date-time attribute's Date value by calling getValue(). A date-time attribute's Date value is established when it is constructed (see DateTimeSyntax(Date)). Once constructed, a date-time attribute's value is immutable.

To construct a date-time attribute from separate values of the year, month, day, hour, minute, and so on, use a java.util.Calendar object to construct a java.util.Date object, then use the java.util.Date object to construct the date-time attribute. To convert a date-time attribute to separate values of the year, month, day, hour, minute, and so on, create a java.util.Calendar object and set it to the java.util.Date from the date-time attribute. Class DateTimeSyntax stores its value in the form of a java.util.Date rather than a java.util.Calendar because it typically takes less memory to store and less time to compare a java.util.Date than a java.util.Calendar.

Constructors

DateTimeSyntax

protected DateTimeSyntax(Date value)

Construct a new date-time attribute with the given java.util.Date value.

Parameters:

value - java.util.Date value.

Throws:

NullPointerException - (unchecked exception) Thrown if theValue is null.

Methods

getValue

public Date getValue()

Returns this date-time attribute's java.util.Date value.

Returns:

the Date.

equals

public boolean equals(Object object)

Returns whether this date-time attribute is equivalent to the passed in object. To be equivalent, all of the following conditions must be true:

1. object is not null.
2. object is an instance of class DateTimeSyntax.
3. This date-time attribute's java.util.Date value and object's java.util.Date value are equal.

Overrides:

equals in class Object

Parameters:

object - Object to compare to.

Returns:

True if object is equivalent to this date-time attribute, false otherwise.

See Also:

Object.hashCode(), HashMap

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Returns a hash code value for this date-time attribute. The hashcode is that of this attribute's java.util.Date value.

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)

toString

public String toString()

Returns a string value corresponding to this date-time attribute. The string value is just this attribute's java.util.Date value converted to a string.

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

a string representation of the object.