Best way to get maximum Date value in java?

Question

I\'m writing a bit of logic that requires treating null dates as meaning forever in the future (the date in question is an expiration date, which may or may not exist). Inst

Answer 1

Try

new Date(Long.MAX_VALUE)

which should give you the longest possible date value in Java.

Answer 2

I like Instant.MAX because it is more likely to be supported in the future than Long.MAX_VALUE.

Note that as of today, though, Instant.MAX.toEpochMilli() throws an overflow error.

Answer 3

One problem I see is that for sorting on expiration date, using a null isn't easily sortable. So replacing with an actual value (even if it's an arbitrary sentry value well into the future) may be needed.

I suppose another way of treating "no expiration" is simply to say something expires 100 years in the future... Unless your database is dealing with long-term contracts!

Answer 4

From Java SE 8 you could use:

LocalDate.MAX

Answer 5

+1 to the Long.MAX_VALUE suggestions. It seems that this would help you if you sort stuff by your date field.

However, instead of constructing a date from some the large constant value where ever you need the date, use a globally visible singleton to hold a Date instance that represents your special value:

class DateUtil
{
  public static final Date NO_EXPIRE = new Date( Long.MAX_VALUE );
}

Then you can use simple identity comparison (mydate == DateUtils.NO_EXPIRE) to test if a particular date is of your special case instead of obj.equals(); (ie. mydate.equals ( DateUtils.NO_EXPIRE ); )

Answer 6

Perhaps one option is to use the maximal system date. You can get it by using:

System.out.println(new Date(Long.MAX_VALUE).toString())
//Output:
//Sun Aug 17 12:42:55 IST 292278994