JSDate Library Usage Guide

JSDate is a modern JavaScript library for handling dates, times, and scheduling. It provides simple methods for common time management tasks while supporting complex calendar operations.

Basic Date Operations

Start by installing JSDate via npm:

npm install jsdate

Create and manipulate dates easily:

const { JSDate } = require('jsdate');

// Create current date
const now = new JSDate();

// Add 3 days
const future = now.add(3, 'days');

// Format output
console.log(future.toFormat('YYYY-MM-DD'));

Key methods for daily use:

• .add() - Add time intervals
• .subtract() - Remove time intervals
• .diff() - Calculate time differences
• .startOf() - Get beginning of time units
• .endOf() - Get end of time units

Timezone Handling

JSDate simplifies timezone conversions:

const nyTime = new JSDate().setTimezone('America/New_York');
const tokyoTime = nyTime.toTimezone('Asia/Tokyo');

Useful timezone features:

• Automatic DST adjustments
• Local time detection
• Offset calculations
• Named timezone support

Event Scheduling

Create recurring events with simple syntax:

const meeting = new JSDate('2023-06-15 14:00')
  .every('2 weeks')
  .except(['2023-07-06']);

Advanced scheduling capabilities:

• Custom recurrence patterns
• Exception dates
• Time blocking
• Conflict detection
• Buffer periods

Formatting Options

Display dates in various formats:

const date = new JSDate();
console.log(date.toFormat('MMMM D, YYYY')); // June 15, 2023
console.log(date.toFormat('h:mm A')); // 2:30 PM

Common format tokens:

• YYYY - 4-digit year
• MM - Month number
• MMM - Month name
• DD - Day of month
• ddd - Day name
• HH - 24-hour
• hh - 12-hour
• mm - minutes
• ss - seconds
• A - AM/PM

Performance Tips

Optimize JSDate usage in large applications:

• Freeze static dates
• Cache formatted outputs
• Batch process date arrays
• Lazy load timezone data
• Disable validation in loops

Comparison with Native Date

JSDate improves upon native Date objects:

• Immutable operations
• Chainable methods
• Timezone support
• Human-readable parsing
• Extended formatting
• Business day calculations

For most time-related tasks in JavaScript applications, JSDate provides a more robust and developer-friendly solution than working with native Date objects directly.