To format a java.util.Date object we use the SimpleDateFormat class. To get back the string pattern that were used to format the date we can use the toPattern() method of this class.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;

public class SimpleDateFormatToPattern {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("EEEE, dd/MM/yyyy");

        // Gets a pattern string describing this date format used by the
        // SimpleDateFormat object.
        String pattern = format.toPattern();

        System.out.println("Pattern = " + pattern);
        System.out.println("Date    = " + format.format(new Date()));
    }
}

The result of the program will be as follow:

Pattern = EEEE, dd/MM/yyyy
Date    = Tuesday, 26/10/2021

• Author
• Recent Posts

Wayan

Founder at Kode Java

Hi, I'm a passionate programmer based on the beautiful island of Bali. I specialize in Java, with hands-on experience in Spring, Hibernate/JPA, and MySQL. I'm currently working on a project I care deeply about, and your support—big or small—helps fuel my work (and my coffee ☕️).

If you like what I’m building, consider buying me a cup of coffee. Thanks a lot!

Latest posts by Wayan (see all)

• How do I secure servlets with declarative security in web.xml - April 24, 2025
• How do I handle file uploads using Jakarta Servlet 6.0+? - April 23, 2025
• How do I serve static files through a Jakarta Servlet? - April 23, 2025