What is @types/date-fns?
@types/date-fns provides TypeScript type definitions for the date-fns library, which is a modern JavaScript date utility library. It offers a wide range of functions for manipulating and formatting dates.
What are @types/date-fns's main functionalities?
Date Formatting
The format function allows you to format dates in various patterns. In this example, the date is formatted to 'yyyy-MM-dd'.
import { format } from 'date-fns';
const formattedDate = format(new Date(2023, 9, 10), 'yyyy-MM-dd');
console.log(formattedDate); // Output: 2023-10-10
Date Comparison
The isAfter and isBefore functions allow you to compare dates. In this example, date1 is compared with date2 to check if it is after or before.
import { isAfter, isBefore } from 'date-fns';
const date1 = new Date(2023, 9, 10);
const date2 = new Date(2023, 9, 11);
console.log(isAfter(date1, date2)); // Output: false
console.log(isBefore(date1, date2)); // Output: true
Date Arithmetic
The addDays and subMonths functions allow you to perform arithmetic operations on dates. In this example, 5 days are added to the date and 1 month is subtracted from the date.
import { addDays, subMonths } from 'date-fns';
const date = new Date(2023, 9, 10);
const newDate1 = addDays(date, 5);
const newDate2 = subMonths(date, 1);
console.log(newDate1); // Output: 2023-10-15
console.log(newDate2); // Output: 2023-09-10
Date Parsing
The parse function allows you to parse a date string into a Date object. In this example, the date string '10-10-2023' is parsed into a Date object.
import { parse } from 'date-fns';
const dateString = '10-10-2023';
const parsedDate = parse(dateString, 'MM-dd-yyyy', new Date());
console.log(parsedDate); // Output: Tue Oct 10 2023 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Other packages similar to @types/date-fns
moment
Moment.js is a widely-used library for parsing, validating, manipulating, and formatting dates. It is more feature-rich but also larger in size compared to date-fns. Moment.js uses a mutable date object, which can lead to side effects if not handled carefully.
luxon
Luxon is a modern JavaScript date and time library built by one of the Moment.js developers. It offers a more comprehensive and immutable API compared to date-fns. Luxon also supports time zones and internationalization out of the box.
dayjs
Day.js is a minimalist JavaScript library that provides similar functionalities to Moment.js but with a much smaller footprint. It is immutable and chainable, making it a good alternative to date-fns for those who prefer a smaller library.