How to parse DateTime in format yyyyMMddHHmmss to OffsetDateTime using DateFormatter

Question

I have an API for JSON parsing which requires a DateTimeFormatter instance in order to parse date time strings to OffsetDateTime. However I always get an exception Unable to obtain ZoneOffset from TemporalAccessor: {},ISO resolved to 2021-08-17T13:26:49 of type java.time.format.Parsed The API uses OffsetDateTime.parse(String, DateFormatter).

// DateTimeFormatter instance to be provided to the API
DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMddHHmmss");
// this is how the API uses the DateTimeFormatter instance
OffsetDateTime dateTime = OffsetDateTime.parse("20210817132649", formatter);

How do I have to create the DateTimeFormatter in order to deliver a ZoneOffset, so that the API is able to parse the DateTime correctly. The ZoneOffset may be UTC.

Yes, I tried: Unable to obtain OffsetDateTime from TemporalAccessor: {InstantSeconds=1629206809},ISO,Z resolved to 2021-08-17T13:26:49 — Stefan
– Stefan, Commented Oct 18, 2021 at 14:44

Arvind Kumar Avinash · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-18 14:55:03Z

4

Update

I understood from you that you are using the API as follows:

apiClient.getJSON().setOffsetDateTimeFormat(DateTimeFormatter);

and you do not have a parameter to pass timezone information. In this case, you can use DateTimeFormatter#withZone as shown below:

import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
import java.time.ZoneOffset;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.util.Locale;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("uuuuMMddHHmmss", Locale.ENGLISH)
                                        .withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC);

        OffsetDateTime odt = OffsetDateTime.parse("20210817132649", formatter);

        System.out.println(odt);
    }
}

Output:

2021-08-17T13:26:49Z

ONLINE DEMO

i.e. now, your call will be:

DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("uuuuMMddHHmmss", Locale.ENGLISH)
                                .withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC);

apiClient.getJSON().setOffsetDateTimeFormat(formatter);

Original answer

Your date-time string does not have a timezone offset. Parse it into a LocalDateTime and then apply the offset to it.

Demo:

import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
import java.time.ZoneOffset;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.util.Locale;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("uuuuMMddHHmmss", Locale.ENGLISH);
        
        OffsetDateTime odt = LocalDateTime.parse("20210817132649", formatter)
                                .atOffset(ZoneOffset.UTC);
        
        System.out.println(odt);
    }
}

Output:

2021-08-17T13:26:49Z

ONLINE DEMO

The Z in the output is the timezone designator for zero-timezone offset. It stands for Zulu and specifies the Etc/UTC timezone (which has the timezone offset of +00:00 hours). You can specify a different timezone offset (e.g. ZoneOffset.of("+05:30")) as per your requirement.

In case you have `ZoneId` available

If you have ZoneId available, you should parse the given date-time string into a LocalDateTime and then apply the ZoneId to it to get a ZonedDateTime from which you can always obtain an OffsetDateTime. The best thing about a ZonedDateTime is that it has been designed to adjust the timezone offset automatically whereas an OffsetDateTime is used to represent a fixed timezone offset.

Demo:

import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
import java.time.ZoneId;
import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.util.Locale;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("uuuuMMddHHmmss", Locale.ENGLISH);

        ZonedDateTime zdt = LocalDateTime.parse("20210817132649", formatter)
                                .atZone(ZoneId.of("Etc/UTC"));

        OffsetDateTime odt = zdt.toOffsetDateTime();

        System.out.println(odt);
    }
}

Output:

2021-08-17T13:26:49Z

ONLINE DEMO

You can specify a different ZoneId(e.g. ZoneId.of("Asia/Kolkata")) as per your requirement.

Learn more about the modern Date-Time API^* from Trail: Date Time.

^{* If you are working for an Android project and your Android API level is still not compliant with Java-8, check Java 8+ APIs available through desugaring. Note that Android 8.0 Oreo already provides support for java.time.}

edited Oct 18, 2021 at 14:55

answered Oct 18, 2021 at 14:22

Arvind Kumar Avinash

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6 Comments

Stefan Over a year ago

I know that the date-time string has no time-zone. But I can only provide a DateTimeFormatter to the API. Thus, I am not able to do the .atOffset(ZoneOffset.UTC).

Arvind Kumar Avinash Over a year ago

@Stefan - Is it a Spring application?

Stefan Over a year ago

No, I use a ApiClient generated via swagger, and can pass the DateFormatter this way: apiClient.getJSON().setOffsetDateTimeFormat(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMddHHmmss"));

Arvind Kumar Avinash Over a year ago

@Stefan - Please check if there is a way to pass the timezone e.g. timezone="UTC"

Stefan Over a year ago

There is no property for timezone, offset or zoneId.

|

MC Emperor · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-18 14:42:17Z

2

Well, the string you passed in does not contain zone information, while an OffsetDateTime requires zone information.

So you'll have to set a value for it.

You could use the DateTimeFormatterBuilder class, which then can be instructed to use some default value if a field is missing from the parsed information:

DateTimeFormatter formatter = new DateTimeFormatterBuilder()
    .parseDefaulting(ChronoField.OFFSET_SECONDS, 0)
    .appendPattern("yyyyMMddHHmmss")
    .toFormatter(Locale.ROOT);

You could also directly set an implied zone to the DateTimeFormatter:

DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMddHHmmss").withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC);

answered Oct 18, 2021 at 14:42

MC Emperor

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1 Comment

Stefan Over a year ago

The DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMddHHmmss").withZone(ZoneOffset.UTC); doesn't work. However with the DateTimeFormatterBuilder is was able to get the String parsed correctly

Joop Eggen · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-18 14:24:29Z

1

Better use a ZonedDateTime - the difference being the Day Saving Time, and countries on with the same zone offset. Maybe using the default ZoneId.

answered Oct 18, 2021 at 14:24

Joop Eggen

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How to parse DateTime in format yyyyMMddHHmmss to OffsetDateTime using DateFormatter

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In case you have `ZoneId` available

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In case you have `ZoneId` available