Date constructor JS Home  <<  JS Reference  <<  Date

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In JavaScript you create a date instance using the constructor Date.

Description

Date instances allow us to store date and time data which we can manipulate.

• When no arguments are passed a new Date instance is created with locale specific current date and time.
• When passing a string for the dateString argument the format must be compatible with the parse method.
• When passing the integer for the milliseconds this represents the number of milliseconds since 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated).
  • When passing a negative integer dates will be calculated prior to 1 January 1900 00:00:00 UTC.
• When using any other arguments you must supply at least the year, month, and day. Other arguments that are omitted have their value set to 0.

Syntax

Parameters

Class Properties

Instance Properties

Class Methods

Instance Methods

Creating Dates

Dates can be created using the syntax described above. When used without the new special operator returns a string representing the current date.

Examples

// Create a Date instance for the current date and time.
var aDate = new Date();
alert(aDate);

// Create a Date instance using the milliseconds parameter.
// Since 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated).
var bDate = new Date(300000000);
alert(bDate);

// Create a negative Date instance using the milliseconds parameter.
// Before 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated).
var cDate = new Date(-300000000);
alert(cDate);

// Parse a Date.
var dDate = new Date('Jan 1, 2000');
alert(dDate);

Related Tutorials

JavaScript Intermediate Tutorials - Lesson 2 - Dates and Times

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