How can I convert Date.toString back to Date?

Question

I have a string obtained by calling the toString method of an instance of the class Date. How can I get a Date object from this string?

Date d = new Date();
String s = d.toString;
Date theSameDate = ...

UPDATE

I've tried to use SimpleDateFormat, but I get java.text.ParseException: Unparseable date What is the date format produced by Date.toString ()?

Answer 1

You could do it like this

Date d = new Date();
String s = d.toString;
Date theSameDate = new SimpleDateFormat("EEE MMM dd HH:mm:ss zzz yyyy").parse(s);

Answer 2

If your real goal is to serialize a Date object for some kind of custom made persistence or data transfer, a simple solution would be:

Date d = new Date();
long l = d.getTime();
Date theSameDate = new Date(l);