How to compare two dates that if one date is less than other

Question

I have two dates like

Date dateOfEnq = sdf.parse(ea.getDateOfEnquiry());
Date validDate = DateUtil.getAfterMonth(dateOfEnq, range);

Now i am doing

if (dateOfEnq <= validDate) {
    ount++;
}

but it gives me error that

The operator <= is undefined for the argument type(s) java.util.Date, java.util.Date.

how can i compare these two dates ?

Thanks

Answer 1

dateOfEnq.before(anotherDate); (or) dateOfEnq.after(anotherDate); etc., to compate two dates.

Read javadoc for more information.

Note: It is better to use latest API like Joda when you want to use dates.

Answer 2

java.util.Date implements Comparable interface. That means it has compareTo method which you can use to compare 2 dates

 int res = date1.compareTo(date2);

• res = 0 if date1 is equal to date2;
• res < 0 if date1 is before date2;
• res > 0 if date1 is after date2

Answer 3

Use after and before methods to compare.