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# QDate Class Reference

The QDate class provides date functions. More...

    #include <QDate>

Part of the QtCore module.

Note: All the functions in this class are reentrant.

- List of all members, including inherited members
- Qt 3 support members

### Public Functions

- QDate ()
- QDate ( int y, int m, int d )
- QDate addDays ( int ndays ) const
- QDate addMonths ( int nmonths ) const
- QDate addYears ( int nyears ) const
- int day () const
- int dayOfWeek () const
- int dayOfYear () const
- int daysInMonth () const
- int daysInYear () const
- int daysTo ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool isNull () const
- bool isValid () const
- int month () const
- bool setYMD ( int y, int m, int d )
- int toJulianDay () const
- QString toString ( const QString & format ) const
- QString toString ( Qt::DateFormat format = Qt::TextDate ) const
- int weekNumber ( int * yearNumber = 0 ) const
- int year () const
- bool operator!= ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool operator< ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool operator<= ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool operator== ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool operator> ( const QDate & d ) const
- bool operator>= ( const QDate & d ) const

### Static Public Members

- QDate currentDate ()
- QDate fromJulianDay ( int jd )
- QDate fromString ( const QString & string, Qt::DateFormat format = Qt::TextDate )
- QDate fromString ( const QString & string, const QString & format )
- bool isLeapYear ( int year )
- bool isValid ( int y, int m, int d )
- QString longDayName ( int weekday )
- QString longMonthName ( int month )
- QString shortDayName ( int weekday )
- QString shortMonthName ( int month )

### Related Non-Members

- QDataStream & operator<< ( QDataStream & out, const QDate & date )
- QDataStream & operator>> ( QDataStream & in, QDate & date )

## Detailed Description

The QDate class provides date functions.

A QDate object contains a calendar date, i.e. year, month, and day numbers, in the modern Western (Gregorian) calendar. It can read the current date from the system clock. It provides functions for comparing dates, and for manipulating dates. For example, it is possible to add and subtract days, months, and years to dates.

A QDate object is typically created either by giving the year, month, and day numbers explicitly, or by using the static function currentDate() that creates a QDate object containing the system clock's date. An explicit date can also be set using setYMD(). The fromString() function returns a QDate given a string and a date format which is used to interpret the date within the string.

The year(), month(), and day() functions provide access to the year, month, and day numbers. Also, dayOfWeek() and dayOfYear() functions are provided. The same information is provided in textual format by the toString(), shortDayName(), longDayName(), shortMonthName(), and longMonthName() functions.

QDate provides a full set of operators to compare two QDate objects where smaller means earlier, and larger means later.

You can increment (or decrement) a date by a given number of days using addDays(). Similarly you can use addMonths() and addYears(). The daysTo() function returns the number of days between two dates.

The daysInMonth() and daysInYear() functions return how many days there are in this date's month and year, respectively. The isLeapYear() function indicates whether this date is in a leap year.

Note that QDate should not be used for date calculations for dates prior to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. This calendar was adopted by England from the 14 September 1752 (hence this is the earliest valid QDate), and subsequently by most other Western countries, by 1923.

The latest valid year within this scheme is the year 8000.

See also QTime, QDateTime, QDateEdit, and QDateTimeEdit.

## Member Function Documentation

### QDate::QDate ()

Constructs a null date. Null dates are invalid.

See also isNull() and isValid().

### QDate::QDate ( int y, int m, int d )

Constructs a date with year y, month m and day d.

y must be in the range 1752 to 8000, m must be in the range 1 to 12, and d must be in the range 1 to 31.

Warning: If y is in the range 0 to 99, it is interpreted as a year in the range 1900 to 1999.

See also isValid().

### QDate QDate::addDays ( int ndays ) const

Returns a QDate object containing a date ndays later than the date of this object (or earlier if ndays is negative).

See also addMonths(), addYears(), and daysTo().

### QDate QDate::addMonths ( int nmonths ) const

Returns a QDate object containing a date nmonths later than the date of this object (or earlier if nmonths is negative).

See also addDays() and addYears().

### QDate QDate::addYears ( int nyears ) const

Returns a QDate object containing a date nyears later than the date of this object (or earlier if nyears is negative).

See also addDays() and addMonths().

### QDate QDate::currentDate () `[static]`

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Returns the current date, as reported by the system clock.

See also QTime::currentTime() and QDateTime::currentDateTime().

### int QDate::day () const

Returns the day of the month (1 to 31) of this date.

See also year(), month(), and dayOfWeek().

### int QDate::dayOfWeek () const

Returns the weekday for this date.

See also day(), dayOfYear(), and Qt::DayOfWeek.

### int QDate::dayOfYear () const

Returns the day of the year (1 to 365) for this date.

See also day() and dayOfWeek().

### int QDate::daysInMonth () const

Returns the number of days in the month (28 to 31) for this date.

See also day() and daysInYear().

### int QDate::daysInYear () const

Returns the number of days in the year (365 or 366) for this date.

See also day() and daysInMonth().

### int QDate::daysTo ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns the number of days from this date to d (which is negative if d is earlier than this date).

Example:

        QDate d1(1995, 5, 17);  // May 17, 1995
        QDate d2(1995, 5, 20);  // May 20, 1995
        d1.daysTo(d2);          // returns 3
        d2.daysTo(d1);          // returns -3

See also addDays().

### QDate QDate::fromJulianDay ( int jd ) `[static]`

Converts the Julian day jd to a QDate.

See also toJulianDay().

### QDate QDate::fromString ( const QString & string, Qt::DateFormat format = Qt::TextDate ) `[static]`

Returns the QDate represented by the string, using the format given, or an invalid date if the string cannot be parsed.

Note for `Qt::TextDate`: It is recommended that you use the English short month names (e.g. "Jan"). Although localized month names can also be used, they depend on the user's locale settings.

Warning: `Qt::LocalDate` cannot be used here.

### QDate QDate::fromString ( const QString & string, const QString & format ) `[static]`

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Returns the QDate represented by the string, using the format given, or an invalid date if the string cannot be parsed.

These expressions may be used for the format:

Expression | Output
--- | ---
d | The day as a number without a leading zero (1 to 31)
dd | The day as a number with a leading zero (01 to 31)
ddd | The abbreviated localized day name (e.g. 'Mon' to 'Sun'). Uses QDate::shortDayName().
dddd | The long localized day name (e.g. 'Monday' to 'Sunday'). Uses QDate::longDayName().
M | The month as a number without a leading zero (1 to 12)
MM | The month as a number with a leading zero (01 to 12)
MMM | The abbreviated localized month name (e.g. 'Jan' to 'Dec'). Uses QDate::shortMonthName().
MMMM | The long localized month name (e.g. 'January' to 'December'). Uses QDate::longMonthName().
yy | The year as two digit number (00 to 99)
yyyy | The year as four digit number (1752 to 8000)

All other input characters will be treated as text. Any sequence of characters that are enclosed in single quotes will also be treated as text and will not be used as an expression. For example:

        QDate date = QDate::fromString("1MM12car2003", "d'MM'MMcaryyyy");
        // date is 1 December 2003

If the format is not satisfied, an invalid QDate is returned. The expressions that don't expect leading zeroes (d, M) will be greedy. This means that they will use two digits even if this will put them outside the accepted range of values and leaves too few digits for other sections. For example, the following format string could have meant January 30 but the M will grab two digits, resulting in an invalid date:

        QDate date = QDate::fromString("130", "Md"); // invalid

For any field that is not represented in the format the following defaults are used:

Field | Default value
--- | ---
Year | The current year
Month | 1
Day | 1

The following examples demonstrate the default values:

        QDate::fromString("1.30", "M.d");           // January 30 in the current year
        QDate::fromString("20000110", "yyyyMMdd");  // January 10, 2000
        QDate::fromString("20000110", "yyyyMd");    // January 10, 2000

See also QDateTime::fromString(), QTime::fromString(), QDate::toString(), QDateTime::toString(), and QTime::toString().

### bool QDate::isLeapYear ( int year ) `[static]`

Returns true if the specified year is a leap year; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::isNull () const

Returns true if the date is null; otherwise returns false. A null date is invalid.

See also isValid().

### bool QDate::isValid () const

Returns true if this date is valid; otherwise returns false.

See also isNull().

### bool QDate::isValid ( int y, int m, int d ) `[static]`

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Returns true if the specified date (year y, month m, and day d) is valid; otherwise returns false.

Example:

        QDate::isValid(2002, 5, 17);  // true
        QDate::isValid(2002, 2, 30);  // false (Feb 30 does not exist)
        QDate::isValid(2004, 2, 29);  // true (2004 is a leap year)
        QDate::isValid(1202, 6, 6);   // false (1202 is pre-Gregorian)

Warning: A y value in the range 00 to 99 is interpreted as 1900 to 1999.

See also isNull() and setYMD().

### QString QDate::longDayName ( int weekday ) `[static]`

Returns the long name of the weekday using the following convention:

- 1 = "Monday"
- 2 = "Tuesday"
- 3 = "Wednesday"
- 4 = "Thursday"
- 5 = "Friday"
- 6 = "Saturday"
- 7 = "Sunday"

The day names will be localized according to the system's locale settings.

See also toString(), shortDayName(), shortMonthName(), and longMonthName().

### QString QDate::longMonthName ( int month ) `[static]`

Returns the long name of the month using the following convention:

- 1 = "January"
- 2 = "February"
- 3 = "March"
- 4 = "April"
- 5 = "May"
- 6 = "June"
- 7 = "July"
- 8 = "August"
- 9 = "September"
- 10 = "October"
- 11 = "November"
- 12 = "December"

The month names will be localized according to the system's locale settings.

See also toString(), shortMonthName(), shortDayName(), and longDayName().

### int QDate::month () const

Returns the number corresponding to the month of this date, using the following convention:

- 1 = "January"
- 2 = "February"
- 3 = "March"
- 4 = "April"
- 5 = "May"
- 6 = "June"
- 7 = "July"
- 8 = "August"
- 9 = "September"
- 10 = "October"
- 11 = "November"
- 12 = "December"

See also year() and day().

### bool QDate::setYMD ( int y, int m, int d )

Sets the date's year y, month m, and day d.

y must be in the range 1752 to 8000, m must be in the range 1 to 12, and d must be in the range 1 to 31.

Warning: If y is in the range 0 to 99, it is interpreted as 1900 to 1999.

Returns true if the date is valid; otherwise returns false.

### QString QDate::shortDayName ( int weekday ) `[static]`

Returns the name of the weekday using the following convention:

- 1 = "Mon"
- 2 = "Tue"
- 3 = "Wed"
- 4 = "Thu"
- 5 = "Fri"
- 6 = "Sat"
- 7 = "Sun"

The day names will be localized according to the system's locale settings.

See also toString(), shortMonthName(), longMonthName(), and longDayName().

### QString QDate::shortMonthName ( int month ) `[static]`

Returns the name of the month using the following convention:

- 1 = "Jan"
- 2 = "Feb"
- 3 = "Mar"
- 4 = "Apr"
- 5 = "May"
- 6 = "Jun"
- 7 = "Jul"
- 8 = "Aug"
- 9 = "Sep"
- 10 = "Oct"
- 11 = "Nov"
- 12 = "Dec"

The month names will be localized according to the system's locale settings.

See also toString(), longMonthName(), shortDayName(), and longDayName().

### int QDate::toJulianDay () const

Converts the date to a Julian day.

See also fromJulianDay().

### QString QDate::toString ( const QString & format ) const

Returns the date as a string. The format parameter determines the format of the result string.

These expressions may be used:

Expression | Output
--- | ---
d | the day as number without a leading zero (1 to31)
dd | the day as number with a leading zero (01 to 31)
ddd | the abbreviated localized day name (e.g. 'Mon' to 'Sun'). Uses QDate::shortDayName().
dddd | the long localized day name (e.g. 'Qt::Monday' to 'Qt::Sunday'). Uses QDate::longDayName().
M | the month as number without a leading zero (1-12)
MM | the month as number with a leading zero (01-12)
MMM | the abbreviated localized month name (e.g. 'Jan' to 'Dec'). Uses QDate::shortMonthName().
MMMM | the long localized month name (e.g. 'January' to 'December'). Uses QDate::longMonthName().
yy | the year as two digit number (00 to 99)
yyyy | the year as four digit number (1752 to 8000)

All other input characters will be ignored. Any sequence of characters that are enclosed in singlequotes will be treated as text and not be used as an expression.

Example format strings (assuming that the QDate is the 20 July 1969):

Format | Result
--- | ---
dd.MM.yyyy | 20.07.1969
ddd MMMM d yy | Sun July 20 69
'The day is' dddd | The day is Sunday

If the datetime is invalid, an empty string will be returned.

See also QDateTime::toString() and QTime::toString().

### QString QDate::toString ( Qt::DateFormat format = Qt::TextDate ) const

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Returns the date as a string. The format parameter determines the format of the string.

If the format is `Qt::TextDate`, the string is formatted in the default way. QDate::shortDayName() and QDate::shortMonthName() are used to generate the string, so the day and month names will be localized names. An example of this formatting is "Sat May 20 1995".

If the format is `Qt::ISODate`, the string format corresponds to the ISO 8601 extended specification for representations of dates and times, taking the form YYYY-MM-DD, where YYYY is the year, MM is the month of the year (between 01 and 12), and DD is the day of the month between 01 and 31.

If the format is `Qt::LocalDate`, the string format depends on the locale settings of the system.

If the datetime is invalid, an empty string will be returned.

See also shortDayName() and shortMonthName().

### int QDate::weekNumber ( int * yearNumber = 0 ) const

Returns the week number (1 to 53), and stores the year in *yearNumber unless yearNumber is null (the default).

Returns 0 if the date is invalid.

In accordance with ISO 8601, weeks start on Qt::Monday and the first Qt::Thursday of a year is always in week 1 of that year. Most years have 52 weeks, but some have 53.

*yearNumber is not always the same as year(). For example, 1 January 2000 has week number 52 in the year 1999, and 31 December 2002 has week number 1 in the year 2003.

        Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California.
        All rights reserved.

        Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
        provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
        duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation,
        advertising materials, and other materials related to such
        distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed
        by the University of California, Berkeley.  The name of the
        University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived
        from this software without specific prior written permission.
        THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
        IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
        WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

See also isValid().

### int QDate::year () const

Returns the year (1752 to 8000) of this date.

See also month() and day().

### bool QDate::operator!= ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is different from d; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::operator< ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is earlier than d; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::operator<= ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is earlier than or equal to d; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::operator== ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is equal to d; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::operator> ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is later than d; otherwise returns false.

### bool QDate::operator>= ( const QDate & d ) const

Returns true if this date is later than or equal to d; otherwise returns false.

## Related Non-Members

### QDataStream & operator<< ( QDataStream & out, const QDate & date )

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Writes the date to stream out.

See also Format of the QDataStream operators.

### QDataStream & operator>> ( QDataStream & in, QDate & date )

This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience. It behaves essentially like the above function.

Reads a date from stream in into the date.

See also Format of the QDataStream operators.