Introduction

Joda-Time is a robust alternative to the Java date and time classes.

Prior to Java SE 8, the standard Java date and time classes like java.util.Calendar are difficult to use and prone to errors. Joda-Time emerged as the de-facto standard library for date and time manipulation in many open-source-projects.

However, starting with Java SE 8 the package java.time (JSR-310) is available and users are asked to migrate to the same since Joda-Time is now in maintenance mode.

When to use Joda-Time

You want to manipulate dates and times and:

1. You are developing a project in an environment where Java SE8 is not available
2. You are maintaining a legacy project that already uses Joda-Time
3. You are developing a cross-platform project and you would like to maintain an API which has similarities to the APIs of other libraries like Noda Time and js-joda (although there is no exact match).

When not to use Joda-Time

1. You don’t need to work with dates and times
2. You are developing a new project where Java SE8 is available: instead use the java.time (JSR-310) classes.

Considerations for using Joda-Time in Android apps

Since the standard Joda-Time library can inflate the memory-footprint of apps, consider using joda-time-android. This is a fork optimized for Android development, and also contains a Joda-Time port of Android’s native DateUtils.

Installation

Using the library archive

Download the JAR and add it to the classpath for your Java project

Using a build tool

If you are using a build tool like Maven or Gradle:

1. Maven

   <dependency>
       <groupId>joda-time</groupId>
       <artifactId>joda-time</artifactId>
       <version>2.9.6</version>
   </dependency>

2. Gradle

   Add the following line to the dependencies closure inside your build.gradle:

    compile 'joda-time:joda-time:2.9.6'

Hello Joda!

We can now write the following HelloJoda program!

import org.joda.time.LocalDate;

public class HelloJoda {

    public static void main(String [] args) {
        LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();
        System.out.println("Hello Joda! Today's date is: " + today);
    }
}

Which will output something like this:

Hello Joda! Today's date is: 2016-11-26