Is this the best way to format dates in Spring?

[Dave Alvarado]

Hi,

I'm using Spring 3.0. I wanted to take advantage of Spring forms, so I had

<form:input path="endDate" cssClass="deals-filterby-input" id="day2" />

where endDate is a java.util.Datefield of my command object. However, I notice that the date is printed out in verbose format, and I would prefer to apply a formatting to it. The only way I have found so far is to abandon Spring forms and go with

<fmt:formatDate value="${form.endDate}" pattern="MMMMM dd, yyyy" var="formattedDate" />
<input type="text" id="day2" class="deals-filterby-input" name="endDate" value="${formattedDate}" />

I don't like this mixed Spring form/non-Spring form approach and so I wanted to ask if there's something I'm missing or if this is the only way to do it.

Thanks, - Dave

[Christophe Verré]

Instead, you can take advantage of Spring 3 Field Formatting.

[Bear Bibeault]

Personally, I would never use a proprietary tag when a standard one is available. I have no problem with a "mixed approach" that involves the JSTL.