Date and Time Format Syntax

The adapter uses the Java simple default date and time format syntax (U.S. locale). To specify these formats for name pattern, you must use a time pattern string.

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Note –

The adapter uses the Java standard for date/time stamps from the Java class java.text.SimpleDateFormat. Some of these formats can differ from the list given here, depending on the Java SDK version you are using.

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In these patterns, all ASCII letters are reserved as pattern letters. See Table 1–2 for a complete list.

Table 1–2 Time Pattern Strings and Meanings

Symbol	Meaning	Presentation	Example
%G	Era designator	Text	AD
%y	Year	Number	1996
%M	Month in year	Text and number	July & 07
%d	Day in month	Number	10
%h	Hour in a.m./p.m. (1 through 12)	Number	12
%H	Hour in day (0 through 23)	Number	0
%m	Minute in hour	Number	30
%s	Second in minute	Number	55
%S	Millisecond	Number	978
%E	Day in week	Text	Tuesday
%D	Day in year	Number	189
%F	Day of week in month	Number	2 (second Wednesday in July)
%w	Week in year	Number	27
%W	Week in month	Number	2
%a	Marker for a.m./p.m.	Text	PM
%k	Hour in day (1 through 24)	Number	24
%K	Hour in a.m./p.m. (0 through 1)	Number	0
%z	Time zone	Text	Pacific Standard Time

The general rules for date/time formats are:

• Text: The count of pattern letters determines the format as follows:

  • For four or more pattern letters, use the full form.

  • For fewer than four, use the short or abbreviated form if one exists.

  Number: The minimum number of digits as follows:

  • Shorter numbers are zero-padded to this amount.

  • The year is handled differently; that is, if the count of “y” is two, the year is truncated to two digits.

  Text and number: For three or more pattern letters, use text; otherwise use a number.

• Quotes and Delimiters: Use these symbols as follows:

  • Enclose literal text you want rendered within single quotes.

  • Use double quotes to mean single quotes.

  • Use commas for delimiters.

    Table 1–3 shows some examples using the U.S. locale.

Table 1–3 U.S. Locale Date and Time Patterns

Format Pattern	Result
yyyy.MM.dd, G, ’at’ hh:mm:ss, z	1996.07.10 AD at 15:08:56 PDT
E, M, dd, ’’yy	Wednesday, July 10, ’96
h:mm, a	12:08 PM
h, ’o’’clock’ a, z	12 o’clock PM., Pacific Daylight Time
K:mm a, z	0:00 p.m., PST
yyyyy.M.dd, G, hh:mm, a	1996.July.10 AD 12:08 PM