JavaScript: How to get simple date without timezone

Question

I have code that generates random dates in a date range, which gives me dates which, when logged, produce this format:

Wed Sep 25 2019 05:00:00 GMT+0500 (Pakistan Standard Time)

I just want to get the date without timezone and Day specifically like this:

2019-09-25

I am trying to get random dates between specified dates using the following code:

    var startDate = new Date("2019-08-26"); //YYYY-MM-DD
    var endDate = new Date("2019-09-25"); //YYYY-MM-DD

    var getDateArray = function(start, end) {
        var arr = new Array();
        var dt = new Date(start);
        while (dt <= end) {
            arr.push(new Date(dt));
            dt.setDate(dt.getDate() + 1);
        }
        return arr;
    }

    var dateArr = getDateArray(startDate, endDate);


    function shuffle(arra1) {
        var ctr = arra1.length, temp, index;

    // While there are elements in the array
        while (ctr > 0) {
           // Pick a random index
            index = Math.floor(Math.random() * ctr);
            // Decrease ctr by 1
            ctr--;
            // And swap the last element with it
            temp = arra1[ctr];
            arra1[ctr] = arra1[index];
            arra1[index] = temp;
        }
        return arra1; }

    console.log(shuffle(dateArr));

It's not a duplicate question as I was trying to achieve different and very specific formate.

Possible duplicate of [How to format a JavaScript date](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3552461/how-to-format-a-javascript-date) — Igor, Sep 04 '19 at 21:07
You should use moment.js. The docs are extensive but it can do exactly what you want. — cullanrocks, Sep 04 '19 at 21:08
@Igor That's not really a duplicate; the top answers focus on how to achieve an entirely different format than what OP is trying to get. — elixenide, Sep 04 '19 at 21:10
@igor I already applied that solution but it doesn't work for me so I had to ask my question separately. — Raza Zaidi, Sep 04 '19 at 21:22

Dacre Denny · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-04T21:28:23.370

One solution would be to map each item of arra1 through a custom formating function (ie formatDate()) where .getDate(), .getMonth() and .getYear() are used to populate the formatted string:

function formatDate(date) {
  const year = date.getFullYear();
  /* getMonth returns dates from 0, so add one */
  const month = date.getMonth() + 1;
  const day = date.getDate();

  return `${year}-${month < 10 ? '0' : ''}${ month }-${ day < 10 ? '0' : '' }${day}`
}

Some points to consider here are:

Date#getMonth() returns 0-indexed dates in the range of 0-11. To match the desired date format, you should add 1 as shown
Check for day and month values that are less than 10 and prefix a 0 to pad those numbers to obtain the desired formatting

This can be added to your existing code as shown:

var startDate = new Date("2019-08-26"); //YYYY-MM-DD
var endDate = new Date("2019-09-25"); //YYYY-MM-DD

function formatDate(date) {
  const year = date.getFullYear();
  /* getMonth returns dates from 0, so add one */
  const month = date.getMonth() + 1;
  const day = date.getDate();
  
  return `${year}-${month < 10 ? '0' : ''}${ month }-${ day < 10 ? '0' : '' }${day}`
}


var getDateArray = function(start, end) {
  var arr = new Array();
  var dt = new Date(start);
  while (dt <= end) {
    arr.push(new Date(dt));
    dt.setDate(dt.getDate() + 1);
  }
  return arr;
}

var dateArr = getDateArray(startDate, endDate);


function shuffle(arra1) {
  var ctr = arra1.length,
    temp, index;

  // While there are elements in the array
  while (ctr > 0) {
    // Pick a random index
    index = Math.floor(Math.random() * ctr);
    // Decrease ctr by 1
    ctr--;
    // And swap the last element with it
    temp = arra1[ctr];
    arra1[ctr] = arra1[index];
    arra1[index] = temp;
  }

  /* Update this line */
  return arra1.map(formatDate);
}

console.log(shuffle(dateArr));

elixenide · Answer 2 · 2019-09-04T21:23:05.080

0

Use .toISOString() and .substr(). Example:

var dt = new Date("2019-09-25");
console.log(dt.toISOString().substr(0,10)); // 2019-09-25

The advantage of this approach is that the Date object has the .toISOString() method built-in, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. That method returns a full ISO string, though, like "2019-09-25T00:00:00.000Z". So, you can use .substr to retrieve only the part you want to use.

edited Sep 04 '19 at 21:23

answered Sep 04 '19 at 21:08

elixenide

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it gives me following error: TypeError: dateArr.toISOString is not a function – Raza Zaidi Sep 04 '19 at 21:15
`dateArr` is an array. `.toISOString` is a method of the `Date` object, not of an array. You would need to call it on a particular date, not the array of dates. – elixenide Sep 04 '19 at 21:24

Diego Otero · Answer 3 · 2019-09-05T13:46:42.867

var getDates = function(startDate, endDate) {
    var dates = [],
        currentDate = startDate,
        addDays = function(days) {
            var date = new Date(this.valueOf());
            date.setDate(date.getDate() + days);

            return date;
    };

    while (currentDate <= endDate) {
        dates.push(currentDate);
        currentDate = addDays.call(currentDate, 1);
   }

        return dates;
    };

// Usage 
var dates = getDates(new Date(2019, 10, 22),
    new Date(2019, 11, 25));
dates.forEach(function(date) {
    console.log(date);
});

JavaScript: How to get simple date without timezone

3 Answers3