| DateLets you work with dates and times.
Core object | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 Navigator 3.0: added prototype property |
Created byThe Date constructor:new Date() new Date("month day, year hours:minutes:seconds") new Date(yr_num, mo_num, day_num) new Date(yr_num, mo_num, day_num, hr_num, min_num, sec_num) Parameters
month, day, year, hours, minutes, seconds | String values representing part of a date. | yr_num, mo_num, day_num, hr_num, min_num, sec_num | Integer values representing part of a date. As an integer value, the month is represented by 0 to 11 with 0=January and 11=December. |
DescriptionIf you supply no arguments, the constructor creates a Date object for today's date and time. If you supply some arguments, but not others, the missing arguments are set to 0. If you supply any arguments, you must supply at least the year, month, and day. You can omit the hours, minutes, and seconds.The way JavaScript handles dates is very similar to the way Java handles dates: both languages have many of the same date methods, and both store dates internally as the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 00:00:00. Dates prior to 1970 are not allowed. Property Summary
prototype
| Allows the addition of properties to a Date object. |
Method Summary
getDate
| Returns the day of the month for the specified date. | getDay
| Returns the day of the week for the specified date. | getHours
| Returns the hour in the specified date. | getMinutes
| Returns the minutes in the specified date. | getMonth
| Returns the month in the specified date. | getSeconds
| Returns the seconds in the specified date. | getTime
| Returns the numeric value corresponding to the time for the specified date. | getTimezoneOffset
| Returns the time-zone offset in minutes for the current locale. | getYear
| Returns the year in the specified date. | parse
| Returns the number of milliseconds in a date string since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, local time. | setDate
| Sets the day of the month for a specified date. | setHours
| Sets the hours for a specified date. | setMinutes
| Sets the minutes for a specified date. | setMonth
| Sets the month for a specified date. | setSeconds
| Sets the seconds for a specified date. | setTime
| Sets the value of a Date object. | setYear
| Sets the year for a specified date. | toGMTString
| Converts a date to a string, using the Internet GMT conventions. | toLocaleString
| Converts a date to a string, using the current locale's conventions. | UTC
| Returns the number of milliseconds in a Date object since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, Universal Coordinated Time (GMT). |
ExamplesThe following examples show several ways to assign dates:today = new Date() birthday = new Date("December 17, 1995 03:24:00") birthday = new Date(95,11,17) birthday = new Date(95,11,17,3,24,0) PropertiesprototypeRepresents the prototype for this class. You can use the prototype to add properties or methods to all instances of a class. For information on prototypes, see Function.prototype .
Property of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 3.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
MethodsgetDateReturns the day of the month for the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetDate() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getDate is an integer between 1 and 31. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 25 to the variable day , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 .Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") day = Xmas95.getDate() See alsoDate.setDate getDayReturns the day of the week for the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetDay() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getDay is an integer corresponding to the day of the week: 0 for Sunday, 1 for Monday, 2 for Tuesday, and so on. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 1 to weekday , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 . December 25, 1995, is a Monday.Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") weekday = Xmas95.getDay() getHoursReturns the hour for the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetHours() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getHours is an integer between 0 and 23. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 23 to the variable hours , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 .Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") hours = Xmas95.getHours() See alsoDate.setHours getMinutesReturns the minutes in the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetMinutes() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getMinutes is an integer between 0 and 59. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 15 to the variable minutes , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 .Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") minutes = Xmas95.getMinutes() See alsoDate.setMinutes getMonthReturns the month in the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetMonth() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getMonth is an integer between 0 and 11. 0 corresponds to January, 1 to February, and so on. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 11 to the variable month , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 .Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") month = Xmas95.getMonth() See alsoDate.setMonth getSecondsReturns the seconds in the current time.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetSeconds() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by getSeconds is an integer between 0 and 59. ExamplesThe second statement below assigns the value 30 to the variable secs , based on the value of the Date object Xmas95 .Xmas95 = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:30") secs = Xmas95.getSeconds() See alsoDate.setSeconds getTimeReturns the numeric value corresponding to the time for the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetTime() ParametersNone DescriptionThe value returned by the getTime method is the number of milliseconds since 1 January 1970 00:00:00. You can use this method to help assign a date and time to another Date object. ExamplesThe following example assigns the date value of theBigDay to sameAsBigDay :theBigDay = new Date("July 1, 1999") sameAsBigDay = new Date() sameAsBigDay.setTime(theBigDay.getTime()) See alsoDate.setTime getTimezoneOffsetReturns the time-zone offset in minutes for the current locale.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetTimezoneOffset() ParametersNone DescriptionThe time-zone offset is the difference between local time and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Daylight savings time prevents this value from being a constant. Examplesx = new Date() currentTimeZoneOffsetInHours = x.getTimezoneOffset()/60 getYearReturns the year in the specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxgetYear() ParametersNone DescriptionThe getYear method returns either a 2-digit or 4-digit year:- For years between and including 1900 and 1999, the value returned by
getYear is the year minus 1900. For example, if the year is 1976, the value returned is 76.
- For years less than 1900 or greater than 1999, the value returned by
getYear is the four-digit year. For example, if the year is 1856, the value returned is 1856. If the year is 2026, the value returned is 2026.
ExamplesExample 1. The second statement assigns the value 95 to the variable year .Xmas = new Date("December 25, 1995 23:15:00") year = Xmas.getYear() Example 2. The second statement assigns the value 2000 to the variable year .Xmas = new Date("December 25, 2000 23:15:00") year = Xmas.getYear() Example 3. The second statement assigns the value 95 to the variable year , representing the year 1995.Xmas.setYear(95) year = Xmas.getYear() See alsoDate.setYear parseReturns the number of milliseconds in a date string since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, local time.
Method of | Date | Static | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxDate.parse(dateString) Parameters:
dateString | A string representing a date. |
DescriptionThe parse method takes a date string (such as "Dec 25, 1995" ) and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 (local time). This function is useful for setting date values based on string values, for example in conjunction with the setTime method and the Date object.Given a string representing a time, parse returns the time value. It accepts the IETF standard date syntax: "Mon, 25 Dec 1995 13:30:00 GMT" . It understands the continental US time-zone abbreviations, but for general use, use a time-zone offset, for example, "Mon, 25 Dec 1995 13:30:00 GMT+0430" (4 hours, 30 minutes west of the Greenwich meridian). If you do not specify a time zone, the local time zone is assumed. GMT and UTC are considered equivalent. Because parse is a static method of Date , you always use it as Date.parse() , rather than as a method of a Date object you created. ExamplesIf IPOdate is an existing Date object, then you can set it to August 9, 1995 as follows:IPOdate.setTime(Date.parse("Aug 9, 1995")) See alsoDate.UTC setDateSets the day of the month for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetDate(dayValue) Parameters
dayValue | An integer from 1 to 31, representing the day of the month. |
ExamplesThe second statement below changes the day for theBigDay to July 24 from its original value.theBigDay = new Date("July 27, 1962 23:30:00") theBigDay.setDate(24) See alsoDate.getDate setHoursSets the hours for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetHours(hoursValue) Parameters
hoursValue | An integer between 0 and 23, representing the hour. |
ExamplestheBigDay.setHours(7) See alsoDate.getHours setMinutesSets the minutes for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetMinutes(minutesValue) Parameters
minutesValue | An integer between 0 and 59, representing the minutes. |
ExamplestheBigDay.setMinutes(45) See alsoDate.getMinutes setMonthSets the month for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetMonth(monthValue) Parameters
monthValue | An integer between 0 and 11 (representing the months January through December). |
ExamplestheBigDay.setMonth(6) See alsoDate.getMonth setSecondsSets the seconds for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetSeconds(secondsValue) Parameters
secondsValue | An integer between 0 and 59. |
ExamplestheBigDay.setSeconds(30) See alsoDate.getSeconds setTimeSets the value of a Date object.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetTime(timevalue) Parameters
timevalue | An integer representing the number of milliseconds since 1 January 1970 00:00:00. |
DescriptionUse the setTime method to help assign a date and time to another Date object. ExamplestheBigDay = new Date("July 1, 1999") sameAsBigDay = new Date() sameAsBigDay.setTime(theBigDay.getTime()) See alsoDate.getTime setYearSets the year for a specified date.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxsetYear(yearValue) Parameters
DescriptionIf yearValue is a number between 0 and 99 (inclusive), then the year for dateObjectName is set to 1900 + yearValue . Otherwise, the year for dateObjectName is set to yearValue . ExamplesNote that there are two ways to set years in the 20th century.Example 1. The year is set to 1996.theBigDay.setYear(96) Example 2. The year is set to 1996.theBigDay.setYear(1996) Example 3. The year is set to 2000.theBigDay.setYear(2000) See alsoDate.getYear toGMTStringConverts a date to a string, using the Internet GMT conventions.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxtoGMTString() ParametersNone DescriptionThe exact format of the value returned by toGMTString varies according to the platform. ExamplesIn the following example, today is a Date object:today.toGMTString() In this example, the toGMTString method converts the date to GMT (UTC) using the operating system's time-zone offset and returns a string value that is similar to the following form. The exact format depends on the platform.Mon, 18 Dec 1995 17:28:35 GMT See alsoDate.toLocaleString toLocaleStringConverts a date to a string, using the current locale's conventions.
Method of | Date | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxtoLocaleString() ParametersNone DescriptionIf you pass a date using toLocaleString , be aware that different platforms assemble the string in different ways. Using methods such as getHours , getMinutes , and getSeconds gives more portable results. ExamplesIn the following example, today is a Date object:today = new Date(95,11,18,17,28,35) //months are represented by 0 to 11 today.toLocaleString() In this example, toLocaleString returns a string value that is similar to the following form. The exact format depends on the platform. 12/18/95 17:28:35 See alsoDate.toGMTString UTCReturns the number of milliseconds in a Date object since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, Universal Coordinated Time (GMT).
Method of | Date | Static | Implemented in | Navigator 2.0, LiveWire 1.0 |
SyntaxDate.UTC(year, month, day, hrs, min, sec) Parameters
year | A year after 1900. | month | A month between 0 and 11. | date | A day of the month between 1 and 31. | hrs | (Optional) A number of hours between 0 and 23. | min | (Optional) A number of minutes between 0 and 59. | sec | (Optional) A number of seconds between 0 and 59. |
DescriptionUTC takes comma-delimited date parameters and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, Universal Coordinated Time (GMT).Because UTC is a static method of Date , you always use it as Date.UTC() , rather than as a method of a Date object you created. ExamplesThe following statement creates a Date object using GMT instead of local time:gmtDate = new Date(Date.UTC(96, 11, 1, 0, 0, 0)) See alsoDate.parse |
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