Getting incorrect parsed date when using SimpleDateTimeFormatter with time zone

Question

I\'ve the following code:

  SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat(\"EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss z yyyy\");
    String s2 = \"Mon Oct 19 19:52:21 IST 2015\";
            


        

Answer 1

Using IST is dangerous as it could stand for Indian or Israel ST. Assuming you meant Indian ST, try this:

    SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss z yyyy");
    format.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone("Asia/Calcutta"));
    String s2 = "Mon Oct 19 19:52:21 IST 2015";
    System.out.println(format.parse(s2));

Also, follow suggestion from @Meno's answer

Answer 2

The code expression

System.out.println(format.parse(s2));

always prints your instant/moment (an object of type java.util.Date) in your system timezone which is apparently PDT. You implicitly apply the method toString()on java.util.Date. Use a dedicated formatter like SimpleDateFormat and set the timezone on this formatter to achieve the desired result.

Finally you need two formatters, one for parsing and one for printing.