How to parse datetime with timezone, but no T or nanoseconds

Question

I'm trying to parse a datetime string in the following format:

2019-02-22 19:29:43+00:00

I'm following this guide: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/time/format/DateTimeFormatter.html

This particular row seems to be the timestamp string that I'm trying to parse for:

Z       zone-offset                 offset-Z          +0000; -0800; -08:00;

Here is what I created, given that guide:

String input = "2019-02-22 19:29:43+00:00";

DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ssX");
LocalDateTime parsed = LocalDateTime.parse(input, formatter);

But I get this error:

 java.time.format.DateTimeParseException: Text '2019-02-22 19:29:43+00:00' could not be parsed, unparsed text found at index 22

Answer 1

tl;dr

• Wrong class: OffsetDateTime, not LocalDateTime.

• Replace SPACE with T for standard format used by default.

OffsetDateTime.parse(               // Do NOT use `LocalDateTime` class, use `OffsetDateTime` because your input has an offset-from-UTC. 
    "2019-02-22 19:29:43+00:00"
    .replace( " " , "T" )           // Replace SPACE in middle with a `T` to comply with ISO 8601 standard format.
)                                   // Returns a `OffsetDateTime`.

See this code run live at IdeOne.com.

Wrong type

Your input string includes an offset-from-UTC.

But you are trying to parse that as a LocalDateTime. A LocalDateTime has no concept of time zone or offset-from-UTC because it does not represent a moment. So, square peg, round hole. You are discarding valuable information.

Instead you should be parsing as a OffsetDateTime.

ISO 8601

Your input string is nearly in standard ISO 8601 format. To comply fully, simply replace the SPACE in the middle with a T.

String input = "2019-02-22 19:29:43+00:00".replace( " " , "T" ) ;

The ISO 8601 formats are used by default by the java.time classes when parsing/generating strings. So no need to specify a formatting pattern.

OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse( input ) ;

---

About java.time

The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.

To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.

The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.

You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes.

Where to obtain the java.time classes?

• Java SE 8, Java SE 9, Java SE 10, Java SE 11, and later - Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
  • Java 9 adds some minor features and fixes.
• Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
  • Most of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
• Android
  • Later versions of Android bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
  • For earlier Android (<26), the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above). See How to use ThreeTenABP….

The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.