Class TimeThread


  • public final class TimeThread
    extends Object
    This class provides an application-wide timing service. It provides the ability to retrieve the current time in various different formats and resolutions.
    • Method Detail

      • getCalendar

        public static Calendar getCalendar()
                                    throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves a Calendar containing the time at the last update.
        Returns:
        A Calendar containing the time at the last update.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getDate

        public static Date getDate()
                            throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves a Date containing the time at the last update.
        Returns:
        A Date containing the time at the last update.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getGeneralizedTimeString

        public static String getGeneralizedTimeString()
                                               throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves a string containing a normalized representation of the current time in a generalized time format. The timestamp will look like "20050101000000.000Z".
        Returns:
        A string containing a normalized representation of the current time in a generalized time format.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getGMTTime

        public static String getGMTTime()
                                 throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves a string containing the current time in GMT. The timestamp will look like "20050101000000Z".
        Returns:
        A string containing the current time in GMT.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getHourAndMinute

        public static int getHourAndMinute()
                                    throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves an integer containing the time in HHmm format at the last update. It will be calculated as "(hourOfDay*100) + minuteOfHour".
        Returns:
        An integer containing the time in HHmm format at the last update.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getLocalTime

        public static String getLocalTime()
                                   throws IllegalStateException
        Retrieves a string containing the current time in the local time zone. The timestamp format will look like "01/Jan/2005:00:00:00 -0600".
        Returns:
        A string containing the current time in the local time zone.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getTime

        public static long getTime()
        Retrieves the time in milliseconds since the epoch at the last update.
        Returns:
        The time in milliseconds since the epoch at the last update.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • getUserDefinedTime

        public static String getUserDefinedTime​(String formatString)
                                         throws IllegalArgumentException,
                                                IllegalStateException
        Retrieves the current time formatted using the given format string.

        The first time this method is used with a given format string, it will be used to create a formatter that will generate the time string. That formatter will then be put into a list so that it will be maintained automatically for future use.

        Parameters:
        formatString - The string that defines the format of the time string to retrieve.
        Returns:
        The formatted time string.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the provided format string is invalid.
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • removeUserDefinedFormatter

        public static void removeUserDefinedFormatter​(String formatString)
                                               throws IllegalStateException
        Removes the user-defined time formatter from this time thread so that it will no longer be maintained. This is a safe operation because if the same format string is used for multiple purposes then it will be added back the next time a time is requested with the given format.
        Parameters:
        formatString - The format string for the date formatter to remove.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - If the time service has not been started.
      • start

        public static void start()
        Starts the time service if it has not already been started.
      • stop

        public static void stop()
        Stops the time service if it has not already been stopped.