TimeZone doesn't know about EEST timezone

Question

I have written the following method:

private static String getDate(final long addToCurrentMillis, final String pattern) {
    final long timeMilliseconds = System.currentTimeMillis() + addToCurrentMillis;
    final SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(pattern);
    final Date resultdate = new Date(timeMilliseconds);
    final TimeZone timeZone = TimeZone.getDefault();
    sdf.setTimeZone(timeZone);
    return sdf.format(resultdate);
}

I used "yyyy-MM-dd zzz" pattern and a result would be:

2015-10-24 EEST

I am using this method for unit testing purposes. The problem is that I try to convert this string back to a TimeZone in code that I would like to test, but TimeZone doesn't know about EEST timezone. Any ideas?

Answer 1

TimeZone.getAvailableIDs does not contain EEST

It contains time zone IDs from IANA Time Zone Database, not abbreviated time zone names.

To figure out the abbreviated time zone name for each time zone ID, run below piece of code:

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("zzz");
Date now = new Date();

for (String id : TimeZone.getAvailableIDs()) {
    sdf.setTimeZone(TimeZone.getTimeZone(id));
    System.out.println(id + " = " + sdf.format(now));
}

At my current machine (Ubuntu Mint 17.2 with JDK 1.8.0_60), the output is below:

Africa/Abidjan = GMT
Africa/Accra = GMT
Africa/Addis_Ababa = EAT
Africa/Algiers = CET
Africa/Asmara = EAT
Africa/Asmera = EAT
Africa/Bamako = GMT
Africa/Bangui = WAT
Africa/Banjul = GMT
Africa/Bissau = GMT
Africa/Blantyre = CAT
Africa/Brazzaville = WAT
Africa/Bujumbura = CAT
Africa/Cairo = EET
Africa/Casablanca = WET
Africa/Ceuta = CET
Africa/Conakry = GMT
Africa/Dakar = GMT
Africa/Dar_es_Salaam = EAT
Africa/Djibouti = EAT
Africa/Douala = WAT
Africa/El_Aaiun = WET
Africa/Freetown = GMT
Africa/Gaborone = CAT
Africa/Harare = CAT
Africa/Johannesburg = SAST
Africa/Juba = EAT
Africa/Kampala = EAT
Africa/Khartoum = EAT
Africa/Kigali = CAT
Africa/Kinshasa = WAT
Africa/Lagos = WAT
Africa/Libreville = WAT
Africa/Lome = GMT
Africa/Luanda = WAT
Africa/Lubumbashi = CAT
Africa/Lusaka = CAT
Africa/Malabo = WAT
Africa/Maputo = CAT
Africa/Maseru = SAST
Africa/Mbabane = SAST
Africa/Mogadishu = EAT
Africa/Monrovia = GMT
Africa/Nairobi = EAT
Africa/Ndjamena = WAT
Africa/Niamey = WAT
Africa/Nouakchott = GMT
Africa/Ouagadougou = GMT
Africa/Porto-Novo = WAT
Africa/Sao_Tome = GMT
Africa/Timbuktu = GMT
Africa/Tripoli = EET
Africa/Tunis = CET
Africa/Windhoek = WAST
America/Adak = HDT
America/Anchorage = AKDT
America/Anguilla = AST
America/Antigua = AST
America/Araguaina = BRT
America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires = ART
America/Argentina/Catamarca = ART
America/Argentina/ComodRivadavia = ART
America/Argentina/Cordoba = ART
America/Argentina/Jujuy = ART
America/Argentina/La_Rioja = ART
America/Argentina/Mendoza = ART
America/Argentina/Rio_Gallegos = ART
America/Argentina/Salta = ART
America/Argentina/San_Juan = ART
America/Argentina/San_Luis = ART
America/Argentina/Tucuman = ART
America/Argentina/Ushuaia = ART
America/Aruba = AST
America/Asuncion = PYST
America/Atikokan = EST
America/Atka = HDT
America/Bahia = BRT
America/Bahia_Banderas = CST
America/Barbados = AST
America/Belem = BRT
America/Belize = CST
America/Blanc-Sablon = AST
America/Boa_Vista = AMT
America/Bogota = COT
America/Boise = MDT
America/Buenos_Aires = ART
America/Cambridge_Bay = MDT
America/Campo_Grande = AMST
America/Cancun = EST
America/Caracas = VET
America/Catamarca = ART
America/Cayenne = GFT
America/Cayman = EST
America/Chicago = CDT
America/Chihuahua = MST
America/Coral_Harbour = EST
America/Cordoba = ART
America/Costa_Rica = CST
America/Creston = MST
America/Cuiaba = AMST
America/Curacao = AST
America/Danmarkshavn = GMT
America/Dawson = PDT
America/Dawson_Creek = MST
America/Denver = MDT
America/Detroit = EDT
America/Dominica = AST
America/Edmonton = MDT
America/Eirunepe = ACT
America/El_Salvador = CST
America/Ensenada = PDT
America/Fort_Wayne = EDT
America/Fortaleza = BRT
America/Glace_Bay = ADT
America/Godthab = WGT
America/Goose_Bay = ADT
America/Grand_Turk = ADT
America/Grenada = AST
America/Guadeloupe = AST
America/Guatemala = CST
America/Guayaquil = ECT
America/Guyana = GYT
America/Halifax = ADT
America/Havana = CDT
America/Hermosillo = MST
America/Indiana/Indianapolis = EDT
America/Indiana/Knox = CDT
America/Indiana/Marengo = EDT
America/Indiana/Petersburg = EDT
America/Indiana/Tell_City = CDT
America/Indiana/Vevay = EDT
America/Indiana/Vincennes = EDT
America/Indiana/Winamac = EDT
America/Indianapolis = EDT
America/Inuvik = MDT
America/Iqaluit = EDT
America/Jamaica = EST
America/Jujuy = ART
America/Juneau = AKDT
America/Kentucky/Louisville = EDT
America/Kentucky/Monticello = EDT
America/Knox_IN = CDT
America/Kralendijk = AST
America/La_Paz = BOT
America/Lima = PET
America/Los_Angeles = PDT
America/Louisville = EDT
America/Lower_Princes = AST
America/Maceio = BRT
America/Managua = CST
America/Manaus = AMT
America/Marigot = AST
America/Martinique = AST
America/Matamoros = CDT
America/Mazatlan = MST
America/Mendoza = ART
America/Menominee = CDT
America/Merida = CST
America/Metlakatla = PST
America/Mexico_City = CST
America/Miquelon = PMDT
America/Moncton = ADT
America/Monterrey = CST
America/Montevideo = UYST
America/Montreal = EDT
America/Montserrat = AST
America/Nassau = EDT
America/New_York = EDT
America/Nipigon = EDT
America/Nome = AKDT
America/Noronha = FNT
America/North_Dakota/Beulah = CDT
America/North_Dakota/Center = CDT
America/North_Dakota/New_Salem = CDT
America/Ojinaga = MDT
America/Panama = EST
America/Pangnirtung = EDT
America/Paramaribo = SRT
America/Phoenix = MST
America/Port-au-Prince = EDT
America/Port_of_Spain = AST
America/Porto_Acre = ACT
America/Porto_Velho = AMT
America/Puerto_Rico = AST
America/Rainy_River = CDT
America/Rankin_Inlet = CDT
America/Recife = BRT
America/Regina = CST
America/Resolute = CDT
America/Rio_Branco = ACT
America/Rosario = ART
America/Santa_Isabel = PST
America/Santarem = BRT
America/Santiago = CLT
America/Santo_Domingo = AST
America/Sao_Paulo = BRST
America/Scoresbysund = EGT
America/Shiprock = MDT
America/Sitka = AKDT
America/St_Barthelemy = AST
America/St_Johns = NDT
America/St_Kitts = AST
America/St_Lucia = AST
America/St_Thomas = AST
America/St_Vincent = AST
America/Swift_Current = CST
America/Tegucigalpa = CST
America/Thule = ADT
America/Thunder_Bay = EDT
America/Tijuana = PDT
America/Toronto = EDT
America/Tortola = AST
America/Vancouver = PDT
America/Virgin = AST
America/Whitehorse = PDT
America/Winnipeg = CDT
America/Yakutat = AKDT
America/Yellowknife = MDT
Antarctica/Casey = AWST
Antarctica/Davis = DAVT
Antarctica/DumontDUrville = DDUT
Antarctica/Macquarie = MIST
Antarctica/Mawson = MAWT
Antarctica/McMurdo = NZDT
Antarctica/Palmer = CLT
Antarctica/Rothera = ROTT
Antarctica/South_Pole = NZDT
Antarctica/Syowa = SYOT
Antarctica/Troll = UTC
Antarctica/Vostok = VOST
Arctic/Longyearbyen = CET
Asia/Aden = AST
Asia/Almaty = ALMT
Asia/Amman = EEST
Asia/Anadyr = ANAT
Asia/Aqtau = AQTT
Asia/Aqtobe = AQTT
Asia/Ashgabat = TMT
Asia/Ashkhabad = TMT
Asia/Baghdad = AST
Asia/Bahrain = AST
Asia/Baku = AZT
Asia/Bangkok = ICT
Asia/Beirut = EET
Asia/Bishkek = KGT
Asia/Brunei = BNT
Asia/Calcutta = IST
Asia/Chita = IRKT
Asia/Choibalsan = CHOT
Asia/Chongqing = CST
Asia/Chungking = CST
Asia/Colombo = IST
Asia/Dacca = BDT
Asia/Damascus = EEST
Asia/Dhaka = BDT
Asia/Dili = TLT
Asia/Dubai = GST
Asia/Dushanbe = TJT
Asia/Gaza = EET
Asia/Harbin = CST
Asia/Hebron = EET
Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh = ICT
Asia/Hong_Kong = HKT
Asia/Hovd = HOVT
Asia/Irkutsk = IRKT
Asia/Istanbul = EET
Asia/Jakarta = WIB
Asia/Jayapura = WIT
Asia/Jerusalem = IST
Asia/Kabul = AFT
Asia/Kamchatka = PETT
Asia/Karachi = PKT
Asia/Kashgar = XJT
Asia/Kathmandu = NPT
Asia/Katmandu = NPT
Asia/Khandyga = YAKT
Asia/Kolkata = IST
Asia/Krasnoyarsk = KRAT
Asia/Kuala_Lumpur = MYT
Asia/Kuching = MYT
Asia/Kuwait = AST
Asia/Macao = CST
Asia/Macau = CST
Asia/Magadan = MAGT
Asia/Makassar = WITA
Asia/Manila = PHT
Asia/Muscat = GST
Asia/Nicosia = EET
Asia/Novokuznetsk = KRAT
Asia/Novosibirsk = NOVT
Asia/Omsk = OMST
Asia/Oral = ORAT
Asia/Phnom_Penh = ICT
Asia/Pontianak = WIB
Asia/Pyongyang = KST
Asia/Qatar = AST
Asia/Qyzylorda = QYZT
Asia/Rangoon = MMT
Asia/Riyadh = AST
Asia/Saigon = ICT
Asia/Sakhalin = SAKT
Asia/Samarkand = UZT
Asia/Seoul = KST
Asia/Shanghai = CST
Asia/Singapore = SGT
Asia/Srednekolymsk = SRET
Asia/Taipei = CST
Asia/Tashkent = UZT
Asia/Tbilisi = GET
Asia/Tehran = IRST
Asia/Tel_Aviv = IST
Asia/Thimbu = BTT
Asia/Thimphu = BTT
Asia/Tokyo = JST
Asia/Ujung_Pandang = WITA
Asia/Ulaanbaatar = ULAT
Asia/Ulan_Bator = ULAT
Asia/Urumqi = XJT
Asia/Ust-Nera = VLAT
Asia/Vientiane = ICT
Asia/Vladivostok = VLAT
Asia/Yakutsk = YAKT
Asia/Yekaterinburg = YEKT
Asia/Yerevan = AMT
Atlantic/Azores = AZOT
Atlantic/Bermuda = ADT
Atlantic/Canary = WET
Atlantic/Cape_Verde = CVT
Atlantic/Faeroe = WET
Atlantic/Faroe = WET
Atlantic/Jan_Mayen = CET
Atlantic/Madeira = WET
Atlantic/Reykjavik = GMT
Atlantic/South_Georgia = GST
Atlantic/St_Helena = GMT
Atlantic/Stanley = FKT
Australia/ACT = AEDT
Australia/Adelaide = ACDT
Australia/Brisbane = AEST
Australia/Broken_Hill = ACDT
Australia/Canberra = AEDT
Australia/Currie = AEDT
Australia/Darwin = ACST
Australia/Eucla = ACWST
Australia/Hobart = AEDT
Australia/LHI = LHDT
Australia/Lindeman = AEST
Australia/Lord_Howe = LHDT
Australia/Melbourne = AEDT
Australia/NSW = AEDT
Australia/North = ACST
Australia/Perth = AWST
Australia/Queensland = AEST
Australia/South = ACDT
Australia/Sydney = AEDT
Australia/Tasmania = AEDT
Australia/Victoria = AEDT
Australia/West = AWST
Australia/Yancowinna = ACDT
Brazil/Acre = ACT
Brazil/DeNoronha = FNT
Brazil/East = BRST
Brazil/West = AMT
CET = CET
CST6CDT = CDT
Canada/Atlantic = ADT
Canada/Central = CDT
Canada/East-Saskatchewan = CST
Canada/Eastern = EDT
Canada/Mountain = MDT
Canada/Newfoundland = NDT
Canada/Pacific = PDT
Canada/Saskatchewan = CST
Canada/Yukon = PDT
Chile/Continental = CLT
Chile/EasterIsland = EAST
Cuba = CDT
EET = EET
EST5EDT = EDT
Egypt = EET
Eire = GMT
Etc/GMT = GMT
Etc/GMT+0 = GMT
Etc/GMT+1 = GMT-01:00
Etc/GMT+10 = GMT-10:00
Etc/GMT+11 = GMT-11:00
Etc/GMT+12 = GMT-12:00
Etc/GMT+2 = GMT-02:00
Etc/GMT+3 = GMT-03:00
Etc/GMT+4 = GMT-04:00
Etc/GMT+5 = GMT-05:00
Etc/GMT+6 = GMT-06:00
Etc/GMT+7 = GMT-07:00
Etc/GMT+8 = GMT-08:00
Etc/GMT+9 = GMT-09:00
Etc/GMT-0 = GMT
Etc/GMT-1 = GMT+01:00
Etc/GMT-10 = GMT+10:00
Etc/GMT-11 = GMT+11:00
Etc/GMT-12 = GMT+12:00
Etc/GMT-13 = GMT+13:00
Etc/GMT-14 = GMT+14:00
Etc/GMT-2 = GMT+02:00
Etc/GMT-3 = GMT+03:00
Etc/GMT-4 = GMT+04:00
Etc/GMT-5 = GMT+05:00
Etc/GMT-6 = GMT+06:00
Etc/GMT-7 = GMT+07:00
Etc/GMT-8 = GMT+08:00
Etc/GMT-9 = GMT+09:00
Etc/GMT0 = GMT
Etc/Greenwich = GMT
Etc/UCT = UTC
Etc/UTC = UTC
Etc/Universal = UTC
Etc/Zulu = UTC
Europe/Amsterdam = CET
Europe/Andorra = CET
Europe/Athens = EET
Europe/Belfast = GMT
Europe/Belgrade = CET
Europe/Berlin = CET
Europe/Bratislava = CET
Europe/Brussels = CET
Europe/Bucharest = EET
Europe/Budapest = CET
Europe/Busingen = CET
Europe/Chisinau = EET
Europe/Copenhagen = CET
Europe/Dublin = GMT
Europe/Gibraltar = CET
Europe/Guernsey = GMT
Europe/Helsinki = EET
Europe/Isle_of_Man = GMT
Europe/Istanbul = EET
Europe/Jersey = GMT
Europe/Kaliningrad = EET
Europe/Kiev = EET
Europe/Lisbon = WET
Europe/Ljubljana = CET
Europe/London = GMT
Europe/Luxembourg = CET
Europe/Madrid = CET
Europe/Malta = CET
Europe/Mariehamn = EET
Europe/Minsk = MSK
Europe/Monaco = CET
Europe/Moscow = MSK
Europe/Nicosia = EET
Europe/Oslo = CET
Europe/Paris = CET
Europe/Podgorica = CET
Europe/Prague = CET
Europe/Riga = EET
Europe/Rome = CET
Europe/Samara = SAMT
Europe/San_Marino = CET
Europe/Sarajevo = CET
Europe/Simferopol = MSK
Europe/Skopje = CET
Europe/Sofia = EET
Europe/Stockholm = CET
Europe/Tallinn = EET
Europe/Tirane = CET
Europe/Tiraspol = EET
Europe/Uzhgorod = EET
Europe/Vaduz = CET
Europe/Vatican = CET
Europe/Vienna = CET
Europe/Vilnius = EET
Europe/Volgograd = MSK
Europe/Warsaw = CET
Europe/Zagreb = CET
Europe/Zaporozhye = EET
Europe/Zurich = CET
GB = GMT
GB-Eire = GMT
GMT = GMT
GMT0 = GMT
Greenwich = GMT
Hongkong = HKT
Iceland = GMT
Indian/Antananarivo = EAT
Indian/Chagos = IOT
Indian/Christmas = CXT
Indian/Cocos = CCT
Indian/Comoro = EAT
Indian/Kerguelen = TFT
Indian/Mahe = SCT
Indian/Maldives = MVT
Indian/Mauritius = MUT
Indian/Mayotte = EAT
Indian/Reunion = RET
Iran = IRST
Israel = IST
Jamaica = EST
Japan = JST
Kwajalein = MHT
Libya = EET
MET = MET
MST7MDT = MDT
Mexico/BajaNorte = PDT
Mexico/BajaSur = MST
Mexico/General = CST
NZ = NZDT
NZ-CHAT = CHADT
Navajo = MDT
PRC = CST
PST8PDT = PDT
Pacific/Apia = WSDT
Pacific/Auckland = NZDT
Pacific/Bougainville = BST
Pacific/Chatham = CHADT
Pacific/Chuuk = CHUT
Pacific/Easter = EAST
Pacific/Efate = VUT
Pacific/Enderbury = PHOT
Pacific/Fakaofo = TKT
Pacific/Fiji = FJT
Pacific/Funafuti = TVT
Pacific/Galapagos = GALT
Pacific/Gambier = GAMT
Pacific/Guadalcanal = SBT
Pacific/Guam = ChST
Pacific/Honolulu = HST
Pacific/Johnston = HST
Pacific/Kiritimati = LINT
Pacific/Kosrae = KOST
Pacific/Kwajalein = MHT
Pacific/Majuro = MHT
Pacific/Marquesas = MART
Pacific/Midway = SST
Pacific/Nauru = NRT
Pacific/Niue = NUT
Pacific/Norfolk = NFT
Pacific/Noumea = NCT
Pacific/Pago_Pago = SST
Pacific/Palau = PWT
Pacific/Pitcairn = PST
Pacific/Pohnpei = PONT
Pacific/Ponape = PONT
Pacific/Port_Moresby = PGT
Pacific/Rarotonga = CKT
Pacific/Saipan = ChST
Pacific/Samoa = SST
Pacific/Tahiti = TAHT
Pacific/Tarawa = GILT
Pacific/Tongatapu = TOT
Pacific/Truk = CHUT
Pacific/Wake = WAKT
Pacific/Wallis = WFT
Pacific/Yap = CHUT
Poland = CET
Portugal = WET
ROK = KST
Singapore = SGT
SystemV/AST4 = AST
SystemV/AST4ADT = AST
SystemV/CST6 = CST
SystemV/CST6CDT = CST
SystemV/EST5 = EST
SystemV/EST5EDT = EST
SystemV/HST10 = HST
SystemV/MST7 = MST
SystemV/MST7MDT = MST
SystemV/PST8 = PST
SystemV/PST8PDT = PST
SystemV/YST9 = AKST
SystemV/YST9YDT = AKST
Turkey = EET
UCT = UTC
US/Alaska = AKDT
US/Aleutian = HDT
US/Arizona = MST
US/Central = CDT
US/East-Indiana = EDT
US/Eastern = EDT
US/Hawaii = HST
US/Indiana-Starke = CDT
US/Michigan = EDT
US/Mountain = MDT
US/Pacific = PDT
US/Pacific-New = PDT
US/Samoa = SST
UTC = UTC
Universal = UTC
W-SU = MSK
WET = WET
Zulu = UTC
EST = EST
HST = HST
MST = MST
ACT = ACST
AET = AEDT
AGT = ART
ART = EET
AST = AKDT
BET = BRST
BST = BDT
CAT = CAT
CNT = NDT
CST = CDT
CTT = CST
EAT = EAT
ECT = CET
IET = EDT
IST = IST
JST = JST
MIT = WSDT
NET = AMT
NST = NZDT
PLT = PKT
PNT = MST
PRT = AST
PST = PDT
SST = SBT
VST = ICT

To figure out the ID of your default time zone, simply do:

System.out.println(TimeZone.getDefault().getID());