The before() method of Java Date class tests whether the date is before the specified date or not.
Syntax:
public boolean before(Date when)
Parameters: The function accepts a single parameter when which specifies the date that has to be checked.
Return Value: It returns a Boolean value. It will return true if this date is before the specified date otherwise false.
Exception: The function throws a single exception that is NullPointerException if when is null.
Program below demonstrates the above mentioned function:
// Java code to demonstrate// before() function of Date class  import java.util.Date;import java.util.Calendar;public class GfG {    // main method    public static void main(String[] args)    {          // creating a Calendar object        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();          // set Month        // MONTH starts with 0 i.e. ( 0 - Jan)        c.set(Calendar.MONTH, 11);          // set Date        c.set(Calendar.DATE, 05);          // set Year        c.set(Calendar.YEAR, 1996);          // creating a date object with specified time.        Date dateOne = c.getTime();          System.out.println("Date 1: " + dateOne);          // creating a date of object        // storing the current date        Date currentDate = new Date();          System.out.println("Date 2: " + currentDate);          System.out.println("Is Date 2 before Date 1: "                         + currentDate.before(dateOne));    }} |
Output:
Date 1: Thu Dec 05 08:15:01 UTC 1996 Date 2: Wed Jan 02 08:15:01 UTC 2019 Is Date 2 before Date 1: false
// Java code to demonstrate// before() function of Date class  import java.util.Date;  public class GfG {    // main method    public static void main(String[] args)    {          // creating a date of object        // storing the current date        Date currentDate = new Date();          System.out.println("Date 1: " + currentDate);          // specifiedDate is assigned to null.        Date specifiedDate = null;          System.out.println("Date 1: " + specifiedDate);          System.out.println("On checking these 2 dates: ");          try {            // throws NullPointerException            System.out.println(currentDate                                   .before(specifiedDate));        }        catch (Exception e) {            System.out.println("Exception: " + e);        }    }} |
Output:
Date 1: Wed Jan 02 08:15:06 UTC 2019 Date 1: null On checking these 2 dates: Exception: java.lang.NullPointerException
