What is JS Date Get Methods?
JavaScript Date objects provide a powerful set of methods to retrieve specific components of a date and time. These methods, known as Get Methods, are crucial for extracting information such as the year, month, day, hours, minutes, seconds and more from a Date object.
Overview of JavaScript Date Get Methods
The Date object includes the following get methods to retrieve date and time values:
| Method | Purpose | Output |
|---|---|---|
| getFullYear() | Returns the year in four digits | 2024 |
| getMonth() | Returns the month (0-11, where 0 = January) | 0 for January |
| getDate() | Returns the day of the month (1-31) | 25 |
| getDay() | Returns the day of the week (0-6, where 0 = Sunday) | 1 for Monday |
| getHours() | Returns the hour (0-23) | 15 for 3 PM |
| getMinutes() | Returns the minutes (0-59) | 45 |
| getSeconds() | Returns the seconds (0-59) | 30 |
| getMilliseconds() | Returns the milliseconds (0-999) | 500 |
| getTime() | Returns the timestamp (milliseconds since 1970) | 1698259380000 |
| getTimezoneOffset() | Returns the timezone difference in minutes | -330 for IST |
Detailed Explanation of Each Method
1. getFullYear()
This method retrieves the four-digit year from a Date object.
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getFullYear()); // Output: 2024
2. getMonth()
This method returns the month as a zero-based value (0 = January, 11 = December).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getMonth()); // Output: 10 (November)
To display the correct month, add 1:
console.log(date.getMonth() + 1); // Output: 11
3. getDate()
This method returns the day of the month (1-31).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getDate()); // Output: 25
4. getDay()
This method returns the day of the week as a zero-based value (0 = Sunday, 6 = Saturday).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getDay()); // Output: 1 (Monday)
To display the day name:
const days = ["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"];
console.log(days[date.getDay()]); // Output: Monday
5. getHours()
This method retrieves the hour from the Date object in a 24-hour format (0-23).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getHours()); // Output: 15 (3 PM)
6. getMinutes()
This method returns the minutes of the current hour (0-59).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getMinutes()); // Output: 45
7. getSeconds()
This method retrieves the seconds of the current minute (0-59).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getSeconds()); // Output: 30
8. getMilliseconds()
This method returns the milliseconds of the current second (0-999).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getMilliseconds()); // Output: 500
9. getTime()
This method returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 (epoch time).
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getTime()); // Output: 1732598730000
10. getTimezoneOffset()
This method returns the difference between UTC and the local time in minutes.
Example:
const date = new Date();
console.log(date.getTimezoneOffset()); // Output: -330 (for IST)
Practical Examples
Example 1: Display Current Date and Time
const date = new Date();
const fullDate = `${date.getFullYear()}-${date.getMonth() + 1}-${date.getDate()}`;
const time = `${date.getHours()}:${date.getMinutes()}:${date.getSeconds()}`;
console.log(`Current Date: ${fullDate}`);
console.log(`Current Time: ${time}`);
// Output:
// Current Date: 2024-11-25
// Current Time: 15:45:30
Example 2: Calculate Age from a Birthdate
function calculateAge(birthDate) {
const today = new Date();
const birth = new Date(birthDate);
let age = today.getFullYear() - birth.getFullYear();
const monthDiff = today.getMonth() - birth.getMonth();
if (monthDiff < 0 || (monthDiff === 0 && today.getDate() < birth.getDate())) {
age--;
}
return age;
}
console.log(calculateAge("2000-05-15")); // Output: 24
Example 3: Convert Timestamp to Readable Date
const timestamp = 1732598730000;
const date = new Date(timestamp);
console.log(date.toLocaleDateString("en-US")); // Output: 11/25/2024
console.log(date.toLocaleTimeString("en-US")); // Output: 3:45:30 PM