Java tutorial
//package com.java2s; import java.text.ParseException; import java.text.SimpleDateFormat; import java.util.Date; public class Main { public static boolean beforeToday(String date, String dateFormatStr) throws ParseException { SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(dateFormatStr); return simpleDateFormat.parse(date).before(new Date()); } public static boolean before(String date1, String date2, String dateFormatStr) throws ParseException { SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(dateFormatStr); return simpleDateFormat.parse(date1).before(simpleDateFormat.parse(date2)); } }