JavaScript Date UTC() Method

In JavaScript, the Date.UTC() method is used to create a date object representing a specified date and time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). It accepts the year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and millisecond components of the date and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

Syntax:

Date.UTC(year, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond);

Parameters:

• year: To specify a year after 1900.
• month: To specify an integer between 0 and 11 representing the month. Other values which are allowed are:
  • -1 will represent the last month of the previous year.
  • 12 will represent the first month of the next year.
  • 13 will represent the second month of the next year.
• day: It is an optional parameter. It is used to specify an integer between 1 and 31 representing the day of the month. Other values which are allowed are:
  • 0 will represent the last hour of the previous month.
  • -1 will represent the hour before the last hour of the previous month.
  • If the month has 31 days then 32 will represent the first day of the next month.
  • If the month has 30 days then 32 will represent the second day of the next month.
• hour: It is an optional parameter. It is used to specify an integer between 0 and 23 representing the hours. Other values which are allowed are :
  • -1 will represent the last hour of the previous day.
  • 24 will represent the first hour of the next day.
• minute: It is an optional parameter. It is used to specify an integer between 0 and 59 representing the minutes. Other values which are allowed are :
  • -1 will represent the last minute of the previous hour.
  • 60 will represent the first minute of the next hour.
• second: It is an optional parameter. It is used to specify an integer between 0 and 59 representing the seconds. Other values which are allowed are:
  • -1 will represent the last second of the previous minute.
  • 60 will represent the first second of the next minute.
• millisecond: It is an optional parameter. It is used to specify an integer between 0 and 999 representing the milliseconds. Other values which are allowed are :
  • -1 will represent the last millisecond of the previous second.
  • 1000 will represent the first millisecond of the next second.

Return value:

The Date.UTC() method returns a number representing the number of milliseconds in the given Date object since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00, universal time.

Example 1: Below is an example of the Date UTC() method.

let gfg = Date.UTC(2020, 07, 03);
console.log("Output : " + gfg);

Output : 1596412800000

Explanation:

The code creates a UTC date object representing August 3, 2020, and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. The value is then logged to the console.

Example 2: Three parameters are passed in the Date.UTC() method represents the year, month, and day respectively. The method returns the number of milliseconds between the date specified as the parameter and midnight of January 1, 1970.

let test = Date.UTC(2010, 01, 28);
console.log("Output : " + test);

Output : 1267315200000

Explanation:

The code creates a UTC date object representing February 28, 2010, and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. The value is then logged to the console.

Supported Browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Edge
• Firefox
• Opera
• Safari

JavaScript Date UTC() Method- FAQs

How do you use the Date.UTC() method?

To use Date.UTC(), you pass the year, month, day, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds as arguments. The method returns the time value in milliseconds.

Why use Date.UTC() instead of new Date()?

Date.UTC() is useful when you need a timestamp directly or when you want to ensure the date and time components are interpreted as UTC rather than the local time zone. Using Date.UTC() can avoid confusion and errors related to time zone differences.

How can Date.UTC() be used in practice?

Date.UTC() can be used for various purposes such as:

• Calculating time differences between events.
• Converting local time to UTC for consistent time storage.
• Creating timestamps for logging and tracking events.

How does Date.UTC() handle missing parameters?

If certain parameters are omitted, Date.UTC() uses default values. For instance, if only the year and month are provided, the day defaults to 1, and hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds default to 0.

What is the range of acceptable years for Date.UTC()?

The Date.UTC() method can handle a wide range of years, from -271,821 to 275,760, which corresponds to the range supported by JavaScript Date objects.

We have a complete list of Javascript Date Objects, to check those please go through the Javascript Date Object Complete reference article.

S

Shubrodeep Banerjee

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