spark.formatters.DateTimeFormatter - ActionScript® 3.0 Reference for the Adobe® Flash® Platform

Package	spark.formatters
Class	public class DateTimeFormatter
Inheritance	DateTimeFormatter GlobalizationBase AdvancedStyleClient EventDispatcher Object
Implements	IFormatter

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The DateTimeFormatter class provides locale-sensitve formatting for a Date object.

This class is a wrapper class around the flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter class. Therefore, the locale-specific formatting functionality and the month names, day names and the first day of the week are provided by the flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter. However, this DateTimeFormatter class can be used in MXML declarations, uses the locale style for the requested Locale ID name, and has methods and properties that are bindable.

The flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter class uses the underlying operating system for the formatting functionality and to supply the locale-specific data. On some operating systems, the flash.globalization classes are unsupported, on these systems, this wrapper class provides fallback functionality.

MXML Syntax expanded

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The <s:DateTimeFormatter> tag inherits all of the tag attributes of its superclass and adds the following tag attributes:

  <s:DateTimeFormatter
    Properties
    dateStyle="long"
    dateTimePattern="EEEE, MMMM dd, yyyy h:mm:ss a"
    errorText="null"
    timeStyle="long"
    useUTC="false"
  />

View the examples

More examples

Formatter example
Formatting dates with a Spark formatter
Formatting dates, numbers, and currencies

Learn more

Formatting Data
Spark formatters
Error handling in a Spark formatter
Localization

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter

Public Properties

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	Property		Defined By
		actualLocaleIDName : String [override] [read-only] The name of the actual locale ID used by this class object.	DateTimeFormatter
		className : String [read-only] The name of the component class.	AdvancedStyleClient
		constructor : Object A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.	Object
		dateStyle : String The date style for this instance of the DateTimeFormatter.	DateTimeFormatter
		dateTimePattern : String The pattern string used by the DateTimeFormatter object to format dates and times.	DateTimeFormatter
		errorText : String String returned by the format() method when an error occurs.	DateTimeFormatter
		id : String The identity of the component.	AdvancedStyleClient
		inheritingStyles : Object An object containing the inheritable styles for this non-visual style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		lastOperationStatus : String [override] [read-only] The status of the most recent operation that this class object performed.	DateTimeFormatter
		moduleFactory : IFlexModuleFactory A module factory is used as context for finding the style manager that controls the styles for this non-visual style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		nonInheritingStyles : Object The beginning of this component's chain of non-inheriting styles.	AdvancedStyleClient
		prototype : Object [static] A reference to the prototype object of a class or function object.	Object
		styleDeclaration : CSSStyleDeclaration The style declaration that holds the inline styles declared by this object.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleManager : IStyleManager2 [read-only] Returns the StyleManager instance used by this component.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleName : Object The source of this object's style values.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleParent : IAdvancedStyleClient A component's parent is used to evaluate descendant selectors.	AdvancedStyleClient
		timeStyle : String The time style for this instance of the DateTimeFormatter.	DateTimeFormatter
		useUTC : Boolean A boolean flag to control whether the local or the UTC date and time values are used when the formatting a date.	DateTimeFormatter

Public Methods

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	Method		Defined By
		DateTimeFormatter() Constructs a new DateTimeFormatter object to format dates and times according to the conventions of the specified locale and the provided date and time formatting styles.	DateTimeFormatter
		addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event.	EventDispatcher
		clearStyle(styleProp:String):void Deletes a style property from this component instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		dispatchEvent(event:Event):Boolean Dispatches an event into the event flow.	EventDispatcher
		format(value:Object):String Formats a display string for an object that specifies a date in either the user's local time or UTC time.	DateTimeFormatter
		getAvailableLocaleIDNames():Vector.<String> [static] Lists all of the locale ID names supported by this class.	DateTimeFormatter
		getClassStyleDeclarations():Array Returns an Array of CSSStyleDeclaration objects for the type selector that applies to this component, or null if none exist.	AdvancedStyleClient
		getFirstWeekday():int Returns an integer corresponding to the first day of the week for this locale and calendar system.	DateTimeFormatter
		getMonthNames(nameStyle:String = "full", context:String = "standalone"):Vector.<String> Retrieves a list of localized strings containing the month names for the current calendar system.	DateTimeFormatter
		getStyle(styleProp:String):* [override] Gets a style property that has been set anywhere in this component's style lookup chain.	GlobalizationBase
		getWeekdayNames(nameStyle:String = "full", context:String = "standalone"):Vector.<String> Retrieves a list of localized strings containing the names of weekdays for the current calendar system.	DateTimeFormatter
		hasCSSState():Boolean Returns true if currentCSSState is not null.	AdvancedStyleClient
		hasEventListener(type:String):Boolean Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.	EventDispatcher
		hasOwnProperty(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.	Object
		initialized(document:Object, id:String):void The initialized method is called when this class or a class that extends this class is used in an MXML declaration.	AdvancedStyleClient
		isPrototypeOf(theClass:Object):Boolean Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.	Object
		matchesCSSState(cssState:String):Boolean Returns true if cssState matches currentCSSState.	AdvancedStyleClient
		matchesCSSType(cssType:String):Boolean Determines whether this instance is the same as, or is a subclass of, the given type.	AdvancedStyleClient
		notifyStyleChangeInChildren(styleProp:String, recursive:Boolean):void Propagates style changes to the children of this style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		propertyIsEnumerable(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.	Object
		regenerateStyleCache(recursive:Boolean):void Sets up the internal style cache values so that the getStyle() method functions.	AdvancedStyleClient
		registerEffects(effects:Array):void Registers the EffectManager as one of the event listeners for each effect event.	AdvancedStyleClient
		removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.	EventDispatcher
		setPropertyIsEnumerable(name:String, isEnum:Boolean = true):void Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.	Object
		setStyle(styleProp:String, newValue:*):void Sets a style property on this component instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleChanged(styleProp:String):void Detects changes to style properties.	AdvancedStyleClient
		stylesInitialized():void Flex calls the stylesInitialized() method when the styles for a component are first initialized.	AdvancedStyleClient
		toLocaleString():String Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.	Object
		toString():String Returns the string representation of the specified object.	Object
		valueOf():Object Returns the primitive value of the specified object.	Object
		willTrigger(type:String):Boolean Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type.	EventDispatcher

Events

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	Summary	Defined By
activate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application gains operating system focus and becomes active.	EventDispatcher
change	The change event is generated whenever the locale style is changed or another property is set that would cause the format of a number to change or cause updates to the other values available through this class.	GlobalizationBase
deactivate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application operating loses system focus and is becoming inactive.	EventDispatcher

Styles

Styles are either common or associated with a specific theme. If the style is common, it can be used with any theme. If a style is associated with a specific theme, it can only be used if your application uses that theme.

Common Styles

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	Style		Description	Defined By
		locale	Type: String CSS Inheritance: yes The locale identifier that specifies the language, region, script and optionally other related tags and keys.	GlobalizationBase

Property Detail

actualLocaleIDName

property

actualLocaleIDName:String [read-only] [override]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The name of the actual locale ID used by this class object. This is the locale that is used to access the formatting data and functionality from the operating system.

If the locale that was set by the locale style is not available, then the value of the actualLocaleIDName is different from the value of the locale style. It indicates the fallback locale that is being used. If the locale style was set to LocaleID.DEFAULT the name of the locale specified by the user's operating system is used.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
override public function get actualLocaleIDName():String

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter.actualLocaleIDName
DateTimeFormatter()

dateStyle

property

dateStyle:String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The date style for this instance of the DateTimeFormatter. The date style is used to retrieve a predefined time and locale specific formatting pattern from the operating system. When formatting a date, the locale style, the timeStyle and the dateStyle properties determine the format of the date. The date style value can be set in the following two ways: assigning a value to either the dateStyle property or the dateTimePattern property.

The possible for this property are defined by the flash.globalization.DateTimeStyle class. Possible values for the dateStyle property are:

DateTimeStyle.LONG
DateTimeStyle.MEDIUM
DateTimeStyle.SHORT
DateTimeStyle.NONE
DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM

If the dateTimePattern property is assigned a value, as a side effect, the dateStyle property is set to DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM

The default value is DateTimeStyle.LONG.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get dateStyle():String
public function set dateStyle(value:String):void

Throws

	`ArgumentError` — if the assigned value is not a valid `DateTimeStyle` constant or is `DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM`.

	`TypeError` — if the `dateStyle` or is set to `null`.

Related API Elements

dateStyle
dateTimePattern
lastOperationStatus
flash.globalization.DateTimeStyle
DateTimeFormatter()

dateTimePattern

property

dateTimePattern:String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The pattern string used by the DateTimeFormatter object to format dates and times.

This pattern can be set in one of two ways:

By setting the dateStyle and timeStyle properties.
By setting the dateTimePattern property.

If this property is assigned a value directly, as a side effect, the current time and date styles are overridden and set to the value DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM.

For a description of the pattern syntax, please see the flash.globalization.DateTimeFormatter.setDateTimePattern() method.

The default value is "EEEE, MMMM dd, yyyy h:mm:ss a".

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get dateTimePattern():String
public function set dateTimePattern(value:String):void

Related API Elements

dateStyle
timeStyle

errorText

property

errorText:String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

String returned by the format() method when an error occurs.

If errorText is non-null and an error occurs while formatting a date, the format method will return the string assigned to this property.

For example:

      var dtf:DateTimeFormatter = new DateTimeFormatter();
      dtf.setStyle("locale", "en-US");
      dtf.errorText = "----"
      trace(dtf.format("abc"));  // ----

The default value is null.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get errorText():String
public function set errorText(value:String):void

Related API Elements

spark.globalization.LastOperationStatus

lastOperationStatus

property

lastOperationStatus:String [read-only] [override]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The status of the most recent operation that this class object performed. The lastOperationStatus is set whenever the constructor or a method of this class is called, or when a property is set. For the possible values see the description under each method.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
override public function get lastOperationStatus():String

timeStyle

property

timeStyle:String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The time style for this instance of the DateTimeFormatter. The time style is used to retrieve a predefined time and locale specific formatting pattern from the operating system. When formatting a date, the locale style, the timeStyle and the dateStyle properties determine the format of the date. The time style value can be set in the following two ways: assigning a value to either the timeStyle property or the dateTimePattern property.

The value of the property are defined by the flash.globalization.DateTimeStyle class. Possible values for the timeStyle property are:

DateTimeStyle.LONG
DateTimeStyle.MEDIUM
DateTimeStyle.SHORT
DateTimeStyle.NONE
DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM

If the dateTimePattern property is assigned a value, as a side effect, the dateStyle property is set to DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM

The default value is DateTimeStyle.LONG.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get timeStyle():String
public function set timeStyle(value:String):void

Throws

	`ArgumentError` — if the assigned value is not a valid `DateTimeStyle` constant or is `DateTimeStyle.CUSTOM` .

	`TypeError` — if the `dateStyle` or `timeStyle` parameter is null.

Related API Elements

dateStyle
dateTimePattern
flash.globalization.DateTimeStyle
DateTimeFormatter()

useUTC

property

useUTC:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

A boolean flag to control whether the local or the UTC date and time values are used when the formatting a date. If useUTC is set to true then the UTC values are used. If the value is set to false, then the date time values of the operating system's current time zone is used.

The default value is false.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get useUTC():Boolean
public function set useUTC(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

format()

Constructor Detail

DateTimeFormatter

()

Constructor

public function DateTimeFormatter()

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Constructs a new DateTimeFormatter object to format dates and times according to the conventions of the specified locale and the provided date and time formatting styles.

The locale for this class is supplied by the locale style. The locale style can be set in several ways:

By using the class in an MXML declaration and inheriting the locale from the document that contains the declaration.

      <fx:Declarations> 
             <s:DateTimeFormatter id="df" />
      </fx:Declarations>

By using an MXML declaration and specifying the locale value in the list of assignments.

      <fx:Declarations> 
          <s:DateTimeFormatter id="df_Japanese" locale="ja-JP" />
      </fx:Declarations>

Calling the setStyle method. For example:
```
      df.setStyle("locale", "ja-JP")
```
Inheriting the style from a UIComponent by calling the UIComponent's addStyleClient() method.

If the locale style is not set by one of the above techniques, the instance of this class will be added as a StyleClient to the topLevelApplication and will therefore inherit the locale style from the topLevelApplication object when the locale dependent property getter or locale dependent method is called.

Most of the properties of this class are automatically set based on the locale style. If the locale style is changed, any properties that have not been explicitly set will also be updated based on the new locale. Note that the actual locale that is used is specified by the actualLocaleIDName property.

Related API Elements

actualLocaleIDName
lastOperationsStatus

Method Detail

format

()

method

public function format(value:Object):String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Formats a display string for an object that specifies a date in either the user's local time or UTC time.

A Date object has two sets of date and time values, those in the user's local time (date, day, fullYear, hours, minutes, month, and seconds) and those in UTC time (dateUTC, dayUTC, fullYearUTC, hoursUTC, minutesUTC, monthUTC, and secondsUTC). The boolean property useUTC controls which set of date and time components are used when formatting the date. The formatting will be done using the conventions of the locale as set by the locale style property and the dateStyle and timeStyle properties, or the dateTimePattern, specified for this DateTimeFormatter instance.

If there is an error when formatting, due to an illegal input value or other error, by default the format() method will return null. However if the errorText property is non-null, then the value of the errorText property will be returned. The lastOperationStatus property will be set to indicate the error that occurred.

Parameters

value:Object — A Date value to be formatted. If the object is not a Date then it will be converted to a date using the Date() constructor.

Returns

String — A formatted string representing the date or time value.

Related API Elements

dateStyle
timeStyle
Date
dateTimePattern
DateTimeFormatter

getAvailableLocaleIDNames

()

method

public static function getAvailableLocaleIDNames():Vector.<String>

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Lists all of the locale ID names supported by this class. This is a list of locales supported by the operating system, not a list of locales that the ResourceManager has resources for.

Returns

Vector.<String> — A vector of strings containing all of the locale ID names supported by this class and operating system.

getFirstWeekday

()

method

public function getFirstWeekday():int

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Returns an integer corresponding to the first day of the week for this locale and calendar system. A value of 0 corresponds to Sunday, 1 corresponds to Monday and so on, with 6 corresponding to Saturday.

Returns

int — An integer corresponding to the first day of the week for this locale and calendar system.

getMonthNames

()

method

public function getMonthNames(nameStyle:String = "full", context:String = "standalone"):Vector.<String>

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Retrieves a list of localized strings containing the month names for the current calendar system. The first element in the list is the name for the first month of the year.

Parameters

	`nameStyle:String` (default = "`full`") — Indicates the style of name string to be used. Valid values are: `DateTimeNameStyle.FULL` `DateTimeNameStyle.LONG_ABBREVIATION` `DateTimeNameStyle.SHORT_ABBREVIATION`

	`context:String` (default = "`standalone`") — A code indicating the context in which the formatted string will be used. This context will only make a difference for certain locales. Valid values are: `DateTimeNameContext.FORMAT` `DateTimeNameContext.STANDALONE`

Returns

Vector.<String> — A vector of localized strings containing the month names for the current locale (specified by the locale style), name style and context. The first element in the vector, at index 0, is the name for the first month of the year; the next element is the name for the second month of the year; and so forth.

Throws

TypeError — if the nameStyle or context parameter is null.

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.DateTimeNameContext
flash.globalization.DateTimeNameStyle

getWeekdayNames

()

method

public function getWeekdayNames(nameStyle:String = "full", context:String = "standalone"):Vector.<String>

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Retrieves a list of localized strings containing the names of weekdays for the current calendar system. The first element in the list represents the name for Sunday.

Parameters

	`nameStyle:String` (default = "`full`") — Indicates the style of name string to be used. Valid values are: `DateTimeNameStyle.FULL` `DateTimeNameStyle.LONG_ABBREVIATION` `DateTimeNameStyle.SHORT_ABBREVIATION`

	`context:String` (default = "`standalone`") — A code indicating the context in which the formatted string will be used. This context only applies for certain locales where the name of a month changes depending on the context. For example, in Greek the month names are different if they are displayed alone versus displayed along with a day. Valid values are: `DateTimeNameContext.FORMAT` `DateTimeNameContext.STANDALONE`

Returns

Vector.<String> — A vector of localized strings containing the month names for the current locale (specified by the locale style), name style and context. The first element in the vector, at index 0, is the name for Sunday; the next element is the name for Monday; and so forth.

Throws

TypeError — if the nameStyle or context parameter is null.

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.DateTimeNameContext
flash.globalization.DateTimeNameStyle

Examples How to use this example

DateTimeFormatterExample.mxml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--  Sample program for spark.formatters.DateTimeFormatter -->
<s:Application
    xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
    xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
    xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/mx">

    <fx:Declarations>
        <s:DateTimeFormatter id="dateTimeFormatter"/>
    </fx:Declarations>

    <fx:Script>
        <![CDATA[
            import mx.collections.ArrayCollection;

            private static const dateTimeStyleMenuItems:ArrayCollection
                = new ArrayCollection(["long", "medium", "short", "none"]);
        ]]>
    </fx:Script>

    <mx:Form>
        <mx:FormItem label="Input Locale ID Name">
            <mx:HBox>
                <s:TextInput id="inputLocaleIDName"/>
                <!-- Upon button click, sets the locale style on the document
                    UI component. The formatter will inherit this style. -->
                <s:Button click="setStyle('locale', inputLocaleIDName.text);"
                          label="Apply"/>
            </mx:HBox>
            <mx:Text text="Example: 'en-US', 'fr-FR', 'ja-JP', 'ar-SA'"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Date Style">
            <s:DropDownList id="dateStyle" requireSelection="true"
                change="dateTimeFormatter.dateStyle = dateTimeStyleMenuItems[dateStyle.selectedIndex]"
                dataProvider="{dateTimeStyleMenuItems}"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Time Style">
            <s:DropDownList id="timeStyle" requireSelection="true"
                change="dateTimeFormatter.timeStyle = dateTimeStyleMenuItems[timeStyle.selectedIndex]"
                dataProvider="{dateTimeStyleMenuItems}"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Input Date">
            <mx:TextInput id="inputDate" text="{new Date().toString()}"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Actual Locale ID Name">
            <mx:Text text="{dateTimeFormatter.actualLocaleIDName}"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
        <mx:FormItem label="Formatted Result">
            <mx:Text id="uiFormattedDate"
                text="{dateTimeFormatter.format(inputDate.text)}"/>
        </mx:FormItem>
    </mx:Form>
</s:Application>

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Classes x

actualLocaleIDName

dateStyle

dateTimePattern

errorText

lastOperationStatus

timeStyle

useUTC

DateTimeFormatter

format

getAvailableLocaleIDNames

getFirstWeekday

getMonthNames

getWeekdayNames