DateFormatSymbols is a public class for encapsulating localizable date-time formatting data, such as the names of the months, the names of the days of the week, and the time zone data. DateFormat and SimpleDateFormat both use DateFormatSymbols to encapsulate this information.

Typically you shouldn't use DateFormatSymbols directly. Rather, you are encouraged to create a date-time formatter with the DateFormat class's factory methods: getTimeInstance, getDateInstance, or getDateTimeInstance. These methods automatically create a DateFormatSymbols for the formatter so that you don't have to. After the formatter is created, you may modify its format pattern using the setPattern method. For more information about creating formatters using DateFormat's factory methods, see DateFormat .

If you decide to create a date-time formatter with a specific format pattern for a specific locale, you can do so with:

 new SimpleDateFormat(aPattern, DateFormatSymbols.getInstance(aLocale)).
 

DateFormatSymbols objects are cloneable. When you obtain a DateFormatSymbols object, feel free to modify the date-time formatting data. For instance, you can replace the localized date-time format pattern characters with the ones that you feel easy to remember. Or you can change the representative cities to your favorite ones.

New DateFormatSymbols subclasses may be added to support SimpleDateFormat for date-time formatting for additional locales.