Date Comparison- error in code posted

[anju07]

hi,
I am using the following javascript code to compare 2 dates, one of which is sysdate and the other is the date from my text field in my jsp.

function rbvalidation(ctl)
{
var cal = new Array();
cal.JAN = "January";
cal.FEB = "February";
cal.MAR = "March";
cal.APR = "April";
cal.MAY = "May";
cal.JUN = "June";
cal.JUL = "July";
cal.AUG = "August";
cal.SEP = "September";
cal.OCT = "October";
cal.NOV = "November";
cal.DEC = "December";

var sysDate = new Date();
var effDateChar = ctl.value; // P_EFFECTIVE_DATE

// translate date entered by user into JS format
var bufArray = effDateChar.split("-");
var effDateMonth = cal[bufArray[1].toUpperCase()];
var effDateDay = bufArray[0];
var effDateYear = bufArray[2];
var effDateDate = new Date(effDateMonth+" "+ effDateDay +
", "+effDateYear+" 23:59:59");

// compare the 2 dates
if (effDateDate < sysDate)
{
alert("The effective date must be today's date or a later date.");
ctl.focus();
return false;
}
return true;
}
</script>

Im calling this as onChange=rbvalidation(this.value) in my text field....
But, it is not working.Is something wrong with the code?

[acoder]

To use associative arrays, try:

cal['JAN']="January";

instead.

[anju07]

To use associative arrays, try:

cal['JAN']="January";

instead.

hi, i tried doing this, it yet does not work

[acoder]

To set the date, create a new Date object and then use setFullYear.

[pbmods]

There's no such thing as an 'associative array' in JavaScript. You'd be better off just creating a generic object:

var cal = {
JAN: 'January',
FEB: 'February',
and so on....
};

When you declare var cal = new Array(), and then you set cal.JAN, you're not actually modifying the Array 'value' of the object. Instead, you're adding a new property.

This would do exactly the same thing:
var cal = new Date();
cal.JAN = 'January';

Or even:
var cal = Math;
cal.JAN = 'January';

[anju07]

There's no such thing as an 'associative array' in JavaScript. You'd be better off just creating a generic object:

var cal = {
JAN: 'January',
FEB: 'February',
and so on....
};

When you declare var cal = new Array(), and then you set cal.JAN, you're not actually modifying the Array 'value' of the object. Instead, you're adding a new property.

This would do exactly the same thing:
var cal = new Date();
cal.JAN = 'January';

Or even:
var cal = Math;
cal.JAN = 'January';

I applied the above logic, but it yet does not validate the field

[pbmods]

Depending on the format of the date, you could use Date.parse().

if(Date.parse(ctl.value) < new Date()) {
...
 

Date.parse() is a little finicky, though, so you might want to use a calendar control .

[acoder]

There's no such thing as an 'associative array' in JavaScript.

True, but using it in that way does work. Whether it's a good idea/style is a different matter.

[acoder]

I applied the above logic, but it yet does not validate the field

Have you used the setFullYear method? That should solve your problem. Currently, the method that you're using to define the date is not correct.

Have you considered using select dropdowns instead? It will be much easier to validate. With a text box, the user could enter anything.