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Core JavaScript 1.5 Reference:Global Objects:Date:toLocaleDateString

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[edit] Summary

Converts a date to a string, returning the "date" portion using the operating system's locale's conventions.

Method of Date
Implemented in: JavaScript 1.0, NES 2.0
ECMA Version: ECMA-262

[edit] Syntax

toLocaleDateString()

[edit] Parameters

None.

[edit] Description

The toLocaleDateString method relies on the underlying operating system in formatting dates. It converts the date to a string using the formatting convention of the operating system where the script is running. For example, in the United States, the month appears before the date (04/15/98), whereas in Germany the date appears before the month (15.04.98). If the operating system is not year-2000 compliant and does not use the full year for years before 1900 or over 2000, toLocaleDateString returns a string that is not year-2000 compliant. toLocaleDateString behaves similarly to toString when converting a year that the operating system does not properly format.

Methods such as getHours, getMinutes, and getSeconds give more portable results than toLocaleDateString.

[edit] Examples

[edit] Example: Using toLocaleDateString

In the following example, today is a Date object:

today = new Date(95,11,18,17,28,35) //months are represented by 0 to 11
today.toLocaleDateString()

In this example, toLocaleDateString returns a string value that is similar to the following form. The exact format depends on the platform.

12/18/95

[edit] See Also

toGMTString, toUTCString