CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptstringdate
Smithmi8
Smithmi8

Reputation: 41

Javascript: convert string with full month to date object

I have a string variable "PublishDate" and then when I check the value using "PublishDate.value" it returns a string like

"October 04, 2016 9:28 AM"

I need to convert it to a date object that is formatted like "10/04/2016"

I am not sure how this is done in javascript: 

var d = new Date("October 04, 2016 9:28 AM");
var date = d.getDate();
var month = d.getMonth();
var year = d.getFullYear();
var hours = d.getHours();
var min = d.getMinutes();   //10/04/2016
console.log(month+1+'/'+date+'/'+year);

Upvotes: 0

Views: 5141

Answers (5)

Roberto Linares
Roberto Linares

Reputation: 2225

First, convert that String date into a Date object using the Date constructor:

var d = new Date(PublishDate.value);

EDIT: Always consider the case that your format may not be supported by the browser. In the case of Firefox, the MDN states that it will support certain date formats:

The string should be in a format recognized by the Date.parse() method (IETF-compliant RFC 2822 timestamps and also a version of ISO8601).

IE's MSDN Javascript reference also says:

It first tries to parse a date string by using the ISO Date Format. If the date string is not in ISO format, JavaScript tries to parse the date by using other Other Date Formats.

Also, consider that the MDN itself discourages parsing String dates using the constructor or Date.parse(), even though it works for your specific case:

Note: parsing of date strings with the Date constructor (and Date.parse, they are equivalent) is strongly discouraged due to browser differences and inconsistencies.

If you need to support other varieties of date formats or a variety of browsers, you can also consider Momtent.js javascript library or do your own parsing with RegEx, like in @RobG's and @adeneo's answers.

Then, you need to extract the parts you want (month, day, year) and concatenate them in a string with the slash as a separator, like in @user3254198's answer or @Steeve Pitis's answer:

d.getDate() + '/' 
    + (d.getMonth() + 1) + '/' 
    +  d.getFullYear()

Remember that the PublishDate.value.getMonth() method returns a zero-based month numerical representation of the month, so if you want a 1-12 value, add a +1 to it.

Feel free to ask any further! Good luck.

Upvotes: 2

RobG
RobG

Reputation: 147363

Parsing a string like "October 04, 2016 9:28 AM" using the Date constructor is entirely implementation dependent and may result in an incorrect date or invalid date, so either use a parser (there are many good ones available) or write a small function yourself to parse the string.

But if you just want to reformat it, then parsing to a Date isn't required at all, just reformat the string. E.g.

/* Reformat a string like October 04, 2016 9:28 AM to m/d/y format
** @param {string} s - string in format MMMM DD, YYYY h:mm ap
** @returns {string} reformatted date in MM/DD/YYYY format
*/
function reformatDate(s) {
  var months = {jan:'01',feb:'02',mar:'03',apr:'04', may:'05',jun:'06',
                jul:'07',aug:'08',sep:'09',oct:'10',nov:'11',dec:'12'};
  var b = s.match(/\w+/g) || [];
  return months[b[0].toLowerCase().substr(0,3)] + '/' + b[1] + '/' + b[2];
}

console.log(reformatDate('October 04, 2016 9:28 AM'));

Upvotes: 1

user3254198
user3254198

Reputation: 759

// Example PublishDate result
var PublishDate = {
  value: 'October 04, 2016 9:28 AM'
};

// convert "date string" into "date object"
var date = new Date(PublishDate.value);

// build required "date string"
var dateShort = (date.getMonth() +1) + '/'
  + date.getDate() + '/'
  + date.getFullYear();

// console log to show result
console.log(dateShort);

Upvotes: 1

adeneo
adeneo

Reputation: 318182

Use an array of months to get the numerical value, and then just parse it however you'd like

var months = [
	"January",
	"February",
	"March",
	"April",
 	"May",
 	"June",
	"July",
 	"August",
 	"September",
	"October",
	"November",
	"December"
];

function pad(n) { return n<10?'0'+n:n }

var PublishDate = {
	value : "October 04, 2016 9:28 AM"
}

var parts = PublishDate.value.split(/[\s\,\:]+/);
var year  = +parts[2];
var month = months.indexOf(parts[0]);
var day   = +parts[1];

var date  = new Date(year, month, day);                  // date object
var str   = pad(month+1) + '/' + pad(day) + '/' +  year; // the string "10/04/2016"

console.log(date);
console.log(str);
.as-console-wrapper {top : 0}

Upvotes: 2

Steeve Pitis
Steeve Pitis

Reputation: 4443

There is a lot of question like this on SO ... Try to search a little next time.

var date = new Date(PublishDate.value);
console.log((date.getDate() + '/' + (date.getMonth() + 1) + '/' +  date.getFullYear());

Upvotes: 0

Related Questions