Conversion of java.util.Date Format from yyyy-mm-dd to mm-dd-yyyy

Understanding Dates

java.util.Date stores the milliseconds since the Unix epoch. It is not formatted, hence formatting has no impact on the underlying Date value.

Java 8 Approach

LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.now();
System.out.println(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("MM-dd-yyyy", Locale.ENGLISH).format(ldt));

Java 7- Approach

// Import ThreeTen Backport
LocalDateTime ldt = LocalDateTime.now();
DateTimeFormatter f = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("MM-dd-yyyy");
String formattedDateTime = f.format(ldt);

Original Solution

Date myDate = new Date();
SimpleDateFormat mdyFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("MM-dd-yyyy");
String mdy = mdyFormat.format(myDate);

Note: Formatting does not alter the Date value itself.