Java Duration between()

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In this guide, you will learn about the Duration between() method in Java programming and how to use it with an example.

1. Duration between() Method Overview

Definition:

The Duration.between() method is a static method in the java.time.Duration class is used to get the duration between two temporal points.

Syntax:

public static Duration between(Temporal startInclusive, Temporal endExclusive)

Parameters:

- startInclusive: The start temporal point, inclusive. Should be of type Temporal.

- endExclusive: The end temporal point, exclusive. Should be of type Temporal.

Key Points:

- The Duration.between() method returns a Duration instance that represents the time span between two temporal points.

- Both temporal points must support the SECOND and NANO units; otherwise, a DateTimeException is thrown.

- The result of the method will have a positive or negative sign depending on the order of the temporal points provided (i.e., if the end is before the start, a negative duration will be returned).

- The commonly used temporal types with this method are LocalDateTime, Instant, and OffsetDateTime.

2. Duration between() Method Example

import java.time.Duration;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;

public class DurationBetweenExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        LocalDateTime startDateTime = LocalDateTime.of(2023, 1, 1, 10, 0);
        LocalDateTime endDateTime = LocalDateTime.of(2023, 1, 1, 12, 30);

        // Calculate the duration between the two LocalDateTime instances
        Duration duration = Duration.between(startDateTime, endDateTime);

        // Print the duration
        System.out.println("Duration: " + duration);
    }
}

Output:

Duration: PT2H30M

Explanation:

In the provided example, we have two LocalDateTime instances, representing 10:00 and 12:30 on January 1, 2023. 

We then use the Duration.between() method to calculate the time span between the two points. 

The resulting duration is 2 hours and 30 minutes, represented as PT2H30M. The "PT" prefix is a standard ISO-8601 representation, where "P" stands for a period and "T" separates the date and time components.