The date:parse-date function parses a string into a date/time string according to a pattern.

The first argument to date:parse-date is a string that gives a date/time in a particular format.

The second argument is a string that gives the format pattern that has been used to format the date/time given as the first argument. The format pattern must be in the syntax specified by the JDK 1.1 SimpleDateFormat class. The format pattern string is interpreted as described for the JDK 1.1 SimpleDateFormat class.

The result of applying the format pattern string to the date/time passed as the first argument is an interpreted date. This interpreted date is formatted as a right or left-truncated date/time strings in one of the formats defined in [XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes]. The permitted formats are as follows:

• xs:dateTime (CCYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss)
• xs:date (CCYY-MM-DD)
• xs:time (hh:mm:ss)
• xs:gYearMonth (CCYY-MM)
• xs:gYear (CCYY)
• xs:gMonthDay (--MM-DD)
• xs:gMonth (--MM--)
• xs:gDay (---DD)

The interpreted date is formatted to the least specific format of the above as possible, providing that all the components specified for it is are represented within the result. If the interpreted date includes a year, then the format must be one of xs:dateTime, xs:date, xs:gYearMonth or xs:gYear; if it specifies an hour, then it must be one of xs:dateTime or xs:time and so on. If the format includes a component that is not specified within the interpreted date, then these components are given default values as follows: year defaults to 0001, month and day default to 01, hour, minute and second default to 00.