You can format dates in Java using the SimpleDateFormat class, which is part of the java.text package. This class allows you to specify patterns describing the formatting and parsing of date and time objects.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

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Example of Formatting Dates with SimpleDateFormat

package org.kodejava.text;

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

public class DateFormatExample {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // Create an instance of SimpleDateFormat
      // Specify the desired pattern
      SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy HH:mm:ss");

      // Get the current date
      Date currentDate = new Date();

      // Format the date
      String formattedDate = simpleDateFormat.format(currentDate);

      // Print the result
      System.out.println("Formatted Date: " + formattedDate);
   }
}

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Common Patterns for Date and Time Formatting

Here are some of the most commonly used patterns:

Symbol	Description	Example
y	Year	2025
M	Month in year	08 or August
d	Day of the month	02
h	Hour in AM/PM (1-12)	3
H	Hour in day (0-23)	15
m	Minute in hour	45
s	Second in minute	30
S	Millisecond	978
E	Day of the week	Tue
D	Day of the year	214
z	Time zone	PDT
Z	Time zone offset	-0700

You can mix and match these symbols to create a pattern that suits your needs.

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Example with Custom Pattern

SimpleDateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("EEEE, MMM dd, yyyy hh:mm a");
Date date = new Date();
System.out.println("Custom Formatted Date: " + dateFormat.format(date));

Output:

Custom Formatted Date: Saturday, Aug 02, 2025 10:30 AM

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Notes:

1. Thread Safety:
   SimpleDateFormat is not thread-safe. If you need to use it in a multithreaded environment, you should manage synchronization or use java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter, which is thread-safe and introduced in Java 8.

2. For Java 8 and Later:
   If you’re using Java 8 or later, consider using the new java.time API (DateTimeFormatter) for better clarity and thread safety.