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JS TutorialLesson #63

JavaScript Get Date Methods

In JavaScript, date objects are created with new Date().

The new Date() Constructor

In JavaScript, date objects are created with new Date().

new Date() returns a date object with the current date and time.

Get the Current Time

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const date = new Date();

Date Get Methods

Method	Description
getFullYear()	Get year as a four digit number (yyyy)
getMonth()	Get month as a number (0-11)
getDate()	Get day as a number (1-31)
getDay()	Get weekday as a number (0-6)
getHours()	Get hour (0-23)
getMinutes()	Get minute (0-59)
getSeconds()	Get second (0-59)
getMilliseconds()	Get millisecond (0-999)
getTime()	Get time (milliseconds since January 1, 1970)

The get methods above return Local time. > Universal time (UTC) is documented at the bottom of this page. > The get methods return information from existing date objects. > In a date object, the time is static. The "clock" is not "running". > The time in a date object is NOT the same as current time.

The getFullYear() Method

The getFullYear() method returns the year of a date as a four digit number:

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getFullYear();

Warning !

Old JavaScript code might use the non-standard method getYear().

getYear() is supposed to return a 2-digit year.

getYear() is deprecated. Do not use it!

The getMonth() Method

The getMonth() method returns the month of a date as a number (0-11).

In JavaScript, January is month number 0, February is number 1, ... > Finally, December is month number 11.

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getMonth();

You can use an array of names to return the month as a name:

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const months = ["January", "February", "March", "April", "May",
"June", "July", "August", "September", "October",
"November", "December"];

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

let month = months[d.getMonth()];

The getDate() Method

The getDate() method returns the day of a date as a number (1-31):

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getDate();

The getHours() Method

The getHours() method returns the hours of a date as a number (0-23):

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getHours();

The getMinutes() Method

The getMinutes() method returns the minutes of a date as a number (0-59):

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getMinutes();

The getSeconds() Method

The getSeconds() method returns the seconds of a date as a number (0-59):

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getSeconds();

The getMilliseconds() Method

The getMilliseconds() method returns the milliseconds of a date as a number (0-999):

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getMilliseconds();

The getDay() Method

The getDay() method returns the weekday of a date as a number (0-6).

In JavaScript, the first day of the week (day 0) is Sunday. > Some countries in the world consider the first day of the week to be Monday.

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getDay();

You can use an array of names, and getDay() to return weekday as a name:

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const days = ["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday",
"Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"];

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

let day = days[d.getDay()];

The getTime() Method

The getTime() method returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970:

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

const d = new Date("1970-01-01");

d.getTime();

The Date.now() Method

Date.now() returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970.

Examples

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

let ms = Date.now();

Date.now() is a static method of the Date object.

You cannot use it on a date object like myDate.now().

The syntax is always Date.now().

UTC Date Get Methods

Method	Same As	Description
getUTCDate()	getDate()	Returns the UTC date
getUTCFullYear()	getFullYear()	Returns the UTC year
getUTCMonth()	getMonth()	Returns the UTC month
getUTCDay()	getDay()	Returns the UTC day
getUTCHours()	getHours()	Returns the UTC hour
getUTCMinutes()	getMinutes()	Returns the UTC minutes
getUTCSeconds()	getSeconds()	Returns the UTC seconds
getUTCMilliseconds()	getMilliseconds()	Returns the UTC milliseconds

UTC methods use UTC time (Coordinated Universal Time).

UTC time is the same as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

The difference between Local time and UTC time can be up to 24 hours.

Local Time? UTC Time?

The getTimezoneOffset() Method

The getTimezoneOffset() method returns the difference (in minutes) between local time an UTC time:

Example

Example Code

javascript

Try it Yourself

let diff = d.getTimezoneOffset();

JavaScript syntax and algorithm demonstration.

const d = new Date("2021-03-25");

d.getHours();

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