How can I extract a datetime pattern from any string in Java?

Question

How can I extract a datetime pattern from any string in Java?

The pattern is "YYYYMMddkm".

Are there any Joda time helper methods for this?

String 1: 2014041507393_somefile.somemore

String 2: _somefile2014041507393.somemore

Answer 1

Use the following regular expression:

^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$

as in

String date = "2014041507393_somefile.somemore";

if (str.matches("\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}")) {
    ...
}