INTER.DTS

A Date or Time variable should not be followed by 'toString()' in an internationalized environment

Description

This rule flags date or time variables that are followed by `toString()'.

For code to be able to run in an internationalized environment, a date variable cannot be followed by '.toString()' because date and time formats differ with region and language.

Example

 package INTER;
 
 import java.util.*;
 import java.awt.*;
 
 public class DTS{
   public void displaydate(){
    Date today = new Date();
    String dateOut = today.toString();  //violation
    System.out.println(dateOut);
    }
 }

Repair

If you use the date-formatting classes, your application can display dates and times correctly around the world. The "DateFormat" class provides predefined formatting styles that are locale-specific and easy to use. The following code is an example of how to use the "DateFormat" class.

 Date today;
 String dateOut;
 DateFormat dateFormatter;
 dateFormatter = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.DEFAULT,cur-
rentLocale);
 
 today = new Date();
 dateOut = dateFormatter.format(today);
 System.out.println(dateOut + " " + currentLocale.toString());

Reference

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/i18n/intro/checklist.html

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/i18n/format/dateFormat.html