Dates and Calendar

We will look at two Java classes that can be used to handle dates: the Date class and the Calendar class.

The Date Class

The Date class represents a specific instance in time. We can instantiate a new Date object like so:

Date date = new Date();

The Calendar Class

The Calendar class is an abstract class that provides methods for manipulating date and time. The basic syntax for instantiating a new Calendar object looks like this:

Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();

QUIZ QUESTION::

For each of the descriptions below, does it better describe the Date class or the Calendar class?

ANSWER CHOICES:

Calendar

Calendar

Date

Calendar

Date

Description	Class
Represents only a specific day and time.
Represents a specific day and time and provides transformation methods.
Has methods to set a specific Day, Month and Year.
Is an abstract class
Is a concrete class

SOLUTION:

Description	Class
Represents a specific day and time and provides transformation methods.	Calendar
Has methods to set a specific Day, Month and Year.	Calendar
Is an abstract class	Calendar
Represents a specific day and time and provides transformation methods.	Calendar
Has methods to set a specific Day, Month and Year.	Calendar
Is an abstract class	Calendar
Represents only a specific day and time.	Date
Is a concrete class	Date
Represents a specific day and time and provides transformation methods.	Calendar
Has methods to set a specific Day, Month and Year.	Calendar
Is an abstract class	Calendar
Represents only a specific day and time.	Date
Is a concrete class	Date

Additional Resources

Java has some other classes—LocalDate, LocalTime, and LocalDateTime—that can be used to manipulate dates. These won't be needed for this course, but if you're curious, you can read about them in the official documentation here.