The before() method of Java Date class tests whether the date is before the specified date or not.
Syntax:
public boolean before(Date when)
Parameters: The function accepts a single parameter when which specifies the date that has to be checked.
Return Value: It returns a Boolean value. It will return true if this date is before the specified date otherwise false.
Exception: The function throws a single exception that is NullPointerException if when is null.
Program below demonstrates the above mentioned function:
// Java code to demonstrate // before() function of Date class import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Calendar;
public class GfG {
// main method
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// creating a Calendar object
Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
// set Month
// MONTH starts with 0 i.e. ( 0 - Jan)
c.set(Calendar.MONTH, 11 );
// set Date
c.set(Calendar.DATE, 05 );
// set Year
c.set(Calendar.YEAR, 1996 );
// creating a date object with specified time.
Date dateOne = c.getTime();
System.out.println( "Date 1: " + dateOne);
// creating a date of object
// storing the current date
Date currentDate = new Date();
System.out.println( "Date 2: " + currentDate);
System.out.println( "Is Date 2 before Date 1: "
+ currentDate.before(dateOne));
}
} |
Output:
Date 1: Thu Dec 05 08:15:01 UTC 1996 Date 2: Wed Jan 02 08:15:01 UTC 2019 Is Date 2 before Date 1: false
// Java code to demonstrate // before() function of Date class import java.util.Date;
public class GfG {
// main method
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// creating a date of object
// storing the current date
Date currentDate = new Date();
System.out.println( "Date 1: " + currentDate);
// specifiedDate is assigned to null.
Date specifiedDate = null ;
System.out.println( "Date 1: " + specifiedDate);
System.out.println( "On checking these 2 dates: " );
try {
// throws NullPointerException
System.out.println(currentDate
.before(specifiedDate));
}
catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println( "Exception: " + e);
}
}
} |
Output:
Date 1: Wed Jan 02 08:15:06 UTC 2019 Date 1: null On checking these 2 dates: Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException