Date.prototype.toTimeString()

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The toTimeString() method returns the time portion of a Date object in human readable form in American English.

Syntax

dateObj.toTimeString()

Return value

A string representing the time portion of the given date in human readable form in American English.

Description

Date instances refer to a specific point in time. Calling toString() will return the date formatted in a human readable form in American English. In SpiderMonkey, this consists of the date portion (day, month, and year) followed by the time portion (hours, minutes, seconds, and time zone). Sometimes it is desirable to obtain a string of the time portion; such a thing can be accomplished with the toTimeString() method.

The toTimeString() method is especially useful because compliant engines implementing ECMA-262 may differ in the string obtained from toString() for Date objects, as the format is implementation-dependent; simple string slicing approaches may not produce consistent results across multiple engines.

Examples

A basic usage of toTimeString()

var d = new Date(1993, 6, 28, 14, 39, 7);

console.log(d.toString());     // Wed Jul 28 1993 14:39:07 GMT-0600 (PDT)
console.log(d.toTimeString()); // 14:39:07 GMT-0600 (PDT)

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
ECMAScript 3rd Edition (ECMA-262) Standard Initial definition.
ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'Date.prototype.toTimeString' in that specification.		 Standard  
ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262)
The definition of 'Date.prototype.toTimeString' in that specification.		 Standard  
ECMAScript Latest Draft (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'Date.prototype.toTimeString' in that specification.		 Draft  

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub
DesktopMobileServer
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung InternetNode.js
toTimeStringChrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 1IE Full support 5.5Opera Full support YesSafari Full support YesWebView Android Full support 1Chrome Android Full support 18Firefox Android Full support 4Opera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support YesSamsung Internet Android Full support 1.0nodejs Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  
Full support

See also

Related Topics
  1. Standard built-in objects
  2. Date
  3. Properties
    1. Date.prototype
  4. Methods
    1. Date.UTC()
    2. Date.now()
    3. Date.parse()
    4. Date.prototype.getDate()
    5. Date.prototype.getDay()
    6. Date.prototype.getFullYear()
    7. Date.prototype.getHours()
    8. Date.prototype.getMilliseconds()
    9. Date.prototype.getMinutes()
    10. Date.prototype.getMonth()
    11. Date.prototype.getSeconds()
    12. Date.prototype.getTime()
    13. Date.prototype.getTimezoneOffset()
    14. Date.prototype.getUTCDate()
    15. Date.prototype.getUTCDay()
    16. Date.prototype.getUTCFullYear()
    17. Date.prototype.getUTCHours()
    18. Date.prototype.getUTCMilliseconds()
    19. Date.prototype.getUTCMinutes()
    20. Date.prototype.getUTCMonth()
    21. Date.prototype.getUTCSeconds()
    22. Date.prototype.getYear()
    23. Date.prototype.setDate()
    24. Date.prototype.setFullYear()
    25. Date.prototype.setHours()
    26. Date.prototype.setMilliseconds()
    27. Date.prototype.setMinutes()
    28. Date.prototype.setMonth()
    29. Date.prototype.setSeconds()
    30. Date.prototype.setTime()
    31. Date.prototype.setUTCDate()
    32. Date.prototype.setUTCFullYear()
    33. Date.prototype.setUTCHours()
    34. Date.prototype.setUTCMilliseconds()
    35. Date.prototype.setUTCMinutes()
    36. Date.prototype.setUTCMonth()
    37. Date.prototype.setUTCSeconds()
    38. Date.prototype.setYear()
    39. Date.prototype.toDateString()
    40. Date.prototype.toGMTString()
    41. Date.prototype.toISOString()
    42. Date.prototype.toJSON()
    43. Date.prototype.toLocaleDateString()
    44. Date.prototype.toLocaleFormat()
    45. Date.prototype.toLocaleString()
    46. Date.prototype.toLocaleTimeString()
    47. Date.prototype.toSource()
    48. Date.prototype.toString()
    49. Date.prototype.toTimeString()
    50. Date.prototype.toUTCString()
    51. Date.prototype.valueOf()
    52. Date.prototype[@@toPrimitive]
  5. Inheritance:
  6. Function
  7. Properties
    1. Function.arguments
    2. Function.arity
    3. Function.caller
    4. Function.displayName
    5. Function.length
    6. Function.name
    7. Function.prototype
  8. Methods
    1. Function.prototype.apply()
    2. Function.prototype.bind()
    3. Function.prototype.call()
    4. Function.prototype.isGenerator()
    5. Function.prototype.toSource()
    6. Function.prototype.toString()
  9. Object
  10. Properties
    1. Object.prototype.__count__
    2. Object.prototype.__noSuchMethod__
    3. Object.prototype.__parent__
    4. Object.prototype.__proto__
    5. Object.prototype.constructor
  11. Methods
    1. Object.prototype.__defineGetter__()
    2. Object.prototype.__defineSetter__()
    3. Object.prototype.__lookupGetter__()
    4. Object.prototype.__lookupSetter__()
    5. Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty()
    6. Object.prototype.isPrototypeOf()
    7. Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable()
    8. Object.prototype.toLocaleString()
    9. Object.prototype.toSource()
    10. Object.prototype.toString()
    11. Object.prototype.unwatch()
    12. Object.prototype.valueOf()
    13. Object.prototype.watch()
    14. Object.setPrototypeOf()