Java tutorial
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat; import java.util.Date; public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MM-yyyy"); String trouble = "18?11?2003"; String goodOne = "18-11-2003"; Date date = simpleDateFormat.parse(goodOne); System.out.println(date); date = simpleDateFormat.parse(trouble); System.out.println(date); System.out.println(String.format("\\u%04x", (int) trouble.charAt(2))); System.out.println(String.format("\\u%04x", (int) goodOne.charAt(2))); } }