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Overview

JDatePicker is a customized JavaFX DatePicker with consistent styling to match other JJArroyo form components. It extends DatePicker and applies the form-input style class to ensure visual consistency across your forms.

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Constructor

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JDatePicker()
constructor
Creates a new JDatePicker with no initial date selected.
JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
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JDatePicker(LocalDate localDate)
constructor
Creates a new JDatePicker with the specified initial date.
import java.time.LocalDate;

JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker(LocalDate.now());

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Style Classes

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j-date-picker
CSS class
Custom style class applied to the JDatePicker component
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form-input
CSS class
Applied to the internal TextField editor for consistent styling with other form inputs

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Usage Examples

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Basic Date Picker

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import java.time.LocalDate;

public class BasicDateExample {
    public VBox createDateField() {
        VBox container = new VBox(10);
        
        Label label = new Label("Select Date:");
        JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        container.getChildren().addAll(label, datePicker);
        return container;
    }
}

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Date Picker with Initial Value

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import java.time.LocalDate;

public class InitialDateExample {
    public JDatePicker createDatePicker() {
        // Set to current date
        JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker(LocalDate.now());
        
        return datePicker;
    }
}

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Date Picker with Listener

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class DateListenerExample {
    public JDatePicker createDatePickerWithListener() {
        JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        // Listen for date changes
        datePicker.valueProperty().addListener((obs, oldDate, newDate) -> {
            if (newDate != null) {
                DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("MMM dd, yyyy");
                System.out.println("Selected date: " + newDate.format(formatter));
            }
        });
        
        return datePicker;
    }
}

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Birth Date Picker with Validation

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.scene.paint.Color;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.Period;

public class BirthDateExample {
    public VBox createBirthDateField() {
        VBox container = new VBox(5);
        
        Label label = new Label("Date of Birth:");
        JDatePicker birthDatePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        Label ageLabel = new Label();
        ageLabel.setTextFill(Color.GRAY);
        
        // Calculate age when date is selected
        birthDatePicker.valueProperty().addListener((obs, oldDate, newDate) -> {
            if (newDate != null) {
                LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();
                Period age = Period.between(newDate, today);
                
                if (age.getYears() >= 0) {
                    ageLabel.setText("Age: " + age.getYears() + " years");
                    ageLabel.setTextFill(Color.GREEN);
                } else {
                    ageLabel.setText("Invalid date: future date selected");
                    ageLabel.setTextFill(Color.RED);
                }
            } else {
                ageLabel.setText("");
            }
        });
        
        container.getChildren().addAll(label, birthDatePicker, ageLabel);
        return container;
    }
}

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Date Range Picker (Start and End Dates)

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.layout.HBox;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.scene.paint.Color;
import java.time.LocalDate;

public class DateRangeExample {
    public VBox createDateRangePicker() {
        VBox container = new VBox(10);
        
        // Start date
        Label startLabel = new Label("Start Date:");
        JDatePicker startDatePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        // End date
        Label endLabel = new Label("End Date:");
        JDatePicker endDatePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        // Validation label
        Label validationLabel = new Label();
        
        // Validate date range
        Runnable validateRange = () -> {
            LocalDate startDate = startDatePicker.getValue();
            LocalDate endDate = endDatePicker.getValue();
            
            if (startDate != null && endDate != null) {
                if (endDate.isBefore(startDate)) {
                    validationLabel.setText("Error: End date must be after start date");
                    validationLabel.setTextFill(Color.RED);
                } else {
                    validationLabel.setText("Valid date range");
                    validationLabel.setTextFill(Color.GREEN);
                }
            } else {
                validationLabel.setText("");
            }
        };
        
        startDatePicker.valueProperty().addListener((obs, old, newVal) -> validateRange.run());
        endDatePicker.valueProperty().addListener((obs, old, newVal) -> validateRange.run());
        
        container.getChildren().addAll(
            startLabel, startDatePicker,
            endLabel, endDatePicker,
            validationLabel
        );
        
        return container;
    }
}

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Appointment Date Picker with Constraints

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.DayOfWeek;

public class AppointmentDateExample {
    public VBox createAppointmentDatePicker() {
        VBox container = new VBox(10);
        
        Label label = new Label("Appointment Date (Weekdays only):");
        JDatePicker appointmentPicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        // Disable weekends
        appointmentPicker.setDayCellFactory(picker -> new javafx.scene.control.DateCell() {
            @Override
            public void updateItem(LocalDate date, boolean empty) {
                super.updateItem(date, empty);
                
                // Disable weekends
                if (date != null && 
                    (date.getDayOfWeek() == DayOfWeek.SATURDAY || 
                     date.getDayOfWeek() == DayOfWeek.SUNDAY)) {
                    setDisable(true);
                    setStyle("-fx-background-color: #ffc0cb;");
                }
                
                // Disable past dates
                if (date != null && date.isBefore(LocalDate.now())) {
                    setDisable(true);
                    setStyle("-fx-background-color: #d3d3d3;");
                }
            }
        });
        
        container.getChildren().addAll(label, appointmentPicker);
        return container;
    }
}

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Date Picker with Custom Format

import com.jjarroyo.components.JDatePicker;
import javafx.util.StringConverter;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class CustomFormatExample {
    public JDatePicker createFormattedDatePicker() {
        JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
        
        // Custom date format: "dd/MM/yyyy"
        DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy");
        
        datePicker.setConverter(new StringConverter<LocalDate>() {
            @Override
            public String toString(LocalDate date) {
                return (date != null) ? formatter.format(date) : "";
            }
            
            @Override
            public LocalDate fromString(String string) {
                return (string != null && !string.isEmpty()) 
                    ? LocalDate.parse(string, formatter) 
                    : null;
            }
        });
        
        return datePicker;
    }
}

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Inherited Methods

Since JDatePicker extends DatePicker, all standard JavaFX DatePicker methods are available:
  • getValue() - Get the selected LocalDate
  • setValue(LocalDate date) - Set the selected date
  • valueProperty() - Access the value property for binding
  • setDayCellFactory(Callback factory) - Customize individual day cells
  • setConverter(StringConverter converter) - Set custom date formatting
  • getEditor() - Access the internal TextField
  • setEditable(boolean value) - Enable/disable manual text editing
  • setDisable(boolean value) - Enable/disable the date picker
  • setPromptText(String text) - Set placeholder text
  • And all other DatePicker methods

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Working with LocalDate

import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

// Get current date
LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();

// Create specific date
LocalDate specificDate = LocalDate.of(2024, 12, 25);

// Parse from string
LocalDate parsed = LocalDate.parse("2024-12-25");

// Format date
DateTimeFormatter formatter = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("MMM dd, yyyy");
String formatted = today.format(formatter); // "Jan 15, 2024"

// Date arithmetic
LocalDate tomorrow = today.plusDays(1);
LocalDate nextWeek = today.plusWeeks(1);
LocalDate nextMonth = today.plusMonths(1);

// Compare dates
boolean isBefore = date1.isBefore(date2);
boolean isAfter = date1.isAfter(date2);
boolean isEqual = date1.isEqual(date2);

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Common Patterns

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Required Field Validation

JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
Label errorLabel = new Label();

datePicker.valueProperty().addListener((obs, oldVal, newVal) -> {
    if (newVal == null) {
        errorLabel.setText("Date is required");
        errorLabel.setTextFill(Color.RED);
    } else {
        errorLabel.setText("");
    }
});

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Set Default to Today

JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker(LocalDate.now());

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Disable Past Dates

JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
datePicker.setDayCellFactory(picker -> new javafx.scene.control.DateCell() {
    @Override
    public void updateItem(LocalDate date, boolean empty) {
        super.updateItem(date, empty);
        setDisable(empty || date.isBefore(LocalDate.now()));
    }
});

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Get Selected Date Value

JDatePicker datePicker = new JDatePicker();
LocalDate selectedDate = datePicker.getValue();

if (selectedDate != null) {
    System.out.println("Selected: " + selectedDate);
} else {
    System.out.println("No date selected");
}

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See Also

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