dateformat

What is dateformat?

The dateformat npm package is a utility for formatting dates. It allows users to format dates using mask tokens, which can be either predefined or custom. It can also convert dates to strings with specified formats, and handle different locales.

What are dateformat's main functionalities?

Basic date formatting

This feature allows you to format a JavaScript date object into a string with a specified format. The code sample shows how to format the current date and time into a more readable string.

const dateFormat = require('dateformat');
const now = new Date();
dateFormat(now, 'dddd, mmmm dS, yyyy, h:MM:ss TT');

Using predefined masks

Predefined masks are built-in formats that can be used to quickly format dates. The code sample demonstrates using the 'longDate' mask to format the current date.

const dateFormat = require('dateformat');
const now = new Date();
dateFormat(now, 'longDate');

UTC date formatting

This feature allows for formatting dates in UTC. The code sample uses the 'isoUtcDateTime' mask to format the current date in ISO UTC format.

const dateFormat = require('dateformat');
const now = new Date();
dateFormat(now, 'isoUtcDateTime');

Custom date formatting

Users can create custom date formats using the formatting tokens provided by the package. The code sample formats the current time using a custom format for hours, minutes, and seconds.

const dateFormat = require('dateformat');
const now = new Date();
dateFormat(now, 'HH:MM:ss');

Other packages similar to dateformat

moment

Moment.js is a popular date manipulation library that offers a wide range of date formatting options. It is more feature-rich than dateformat, providing extensive support for date parsing, manipulation, and localization. However, it is larger in size and has been considered a legacy project in maintenance mode since 2020.

dayjs

Day.js is a lightweight date formatting and manipulation library that offers a similar API to Moment.js. It is more modern and modular, allowing users to load only the plugins they need. Day.js is a good alternative to dateformat when additional date manipulation capabilities are required.

date-fns

Date-fns is a modular date utility library that provides the most comprehensive set of date formatting and manipulation functions. It is designed to be modular, so you can pick and choose which functions you need, resulting in smaller bundle sizes. It is a strong alternative to dateformat for projects that require both formatting and complex date logic.

README

dateformat

A node.js package for Steven Levithan's excellent dateFormat() function.

Modifications

• Removed the Date.prototype.format method. Sorry folks, but extending native prototypes is for suckers.
• Added a module.exports = dateFormat; statement at the bottom
• Added the placeholder N to get the ISO 8601 numeric representation of the day of the week

Installation

$ npm install dateformat
$ dateformat --help

Usage

As taken from Steven's post, modified to match the Modifications listed above:

    var dateFormat = require('dateformat');
    var now = new Date();

    // Basic usage
    dateFormat(now, "dddd, mmmm dS, yyyy, h:MM:ss TT");
    // Saturday, June 9th, 2007, 5:46:21 PM

    // You can use one of several named masks
    dateFormat(now, "isoDateTime");
    // 2007-06-09T17:46:21

    // ...Or add your own
    dateFormat.masks.hammerTime = 'HH:MM! "Can\'t touch this!"';
    dateFormat(now, "hammerTime");
    // 17:46! Can't touch this!

    // When using the standalone dateFormat function,
    // you can also provide the date as a string
    dateFormat("Jun 9 2007", "fullDate");
    // Saturday, June 9, 2007

    // Note that if you don't include the mask argument,
    // dateFormat.masks.default is used
    dateFormat(now);
    // Sat Jun 09 2007 17:46:21

    // And if you don't include the date argument,
    // the current date and time is used
    dateFormat();
    // Sat Jun 09 2007 17:46:22

    // You can also skip the date argument (as long as your mask doesn't
    // contain any numbers), in which case the current date/time is used
    dateFormat("longTime");
    // 5:46:22 PM EST

    // And finally, you can convert local time to UTC time. Simply pass in
    // true as an additional argument (no argument skipping allowed in this case):
    dateFormat(now, "longTime", true);
    // 10:46:21 PM UTC

    // ...Or add the prefix "UTC:" or "GMT:" to your mask.
    dateFormat(now, "UTC:h:MM:ss TT Z");
    // 10:46:21 PM UTC

    // You can also get the ISO 8601 week of the year:
    dateFormat(now, "W");
    // 42

    // and also get the ISO 8601 numeric representation of the day of the week:
    dateFormat(now,"N");
    // 6

License

(c) 2007-2009 Steven Levithan stevenlevithan.com, MIT license.