Use the class SimpleDateFormat.
Main Topics
Browse All TopicsI need to know if there is a way to convert a string in MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss format to its equivalent in milliseconds (Epoch time) in Java? I have a string in this format that I need to convert to milliseconds so I can send the converted value through my program that requires the time to be in this format. Any help would be appreciated.
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
I was able to resolve my issue by using the following try...catch block. I attempt to parse the string as a long and if that fails then parse the string as a date.
Date localDate = new Date();
try
{
localDate.setTime(Long.par
}
catch (NumberFormatException localNumberFormatException
{
localDate.setTime(Date.par
}
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: Ajay-SinghPosted on 2009-07-10 at 09:52:10ID: 24825161
You can use SimpleDateFormat to parse and get the epoach
yy hh:mm:ss").parse(text);
String text = ... // Date text
Date date = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yy
long epoach = date.getTime();