An Introduction to Luxon

Luxon is a powerful and modern JavaScript library for handling dates and times. It simplifies date manipulation and formatting, making it a favorite among developers. In this article, we will explore various APIs provided by Luxon with code snippets and build a simple application.

Setting Up Luxon

First, you need to install Luxon:

      npm install luxon
    

Creating Dates with Luxon

Basic usage of Luxon to create date objects:

      import { DateTime } from 'luxon';

      // Current date and time
      const now = DateTime.local();

      // Specific date and time
      const specificDate = DateTime.local(2023, 10, 30, 12, 45);
    

Formatting Dates

Luxon makes date formatting straightforward. Here are some examples:

      // Full date and time
      console.log(now.toLocaleString(DateTime.DATETIME_FULL));

      // Custom format
      console.log(now.toFormat('yyyy LLL dd'));
    

Parsing Dates from Strings

Parse strings into Luxon date objects:

      const fromISO = DateTime.fromISO('2023-10-30T12:45:00');
      const fromRFC2822 = DateTime.fromRFC2822('Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:45:00 +0000');
      const fromHTTP = DateTime.fromHTTP('Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:45:00 GMT');
    

Manipulating Dates

Luxon provides methods to manipulate dates:

      const plusDays = now.plus({ days: 10 });
      const minusHours = now.minus({ hours: 5 });
    

Comparing Dates

Easily compare dates in Luxon:

      if (now < specificDate) {
        console.log('Now is before the specific date');
      }
    

Difference Between Dates

Calculate differences between dates:

      const diff = specificDate.diff(now, ['days', 'hours']);
      console.log(diff.toObject());
    

Timezones

Handle timezones effortlessly:

      const inUTC = DateTime.utc();
      const inEST = DateTime.local().setZone('America/New_York');
    

App Example Using Luxon

Let's build a simple app that shows the current time in different timezones:

      import { DateTime } from 'luxon';

      function showTimezones() {
        const zones = ['America/New_York', 'Europe/London', 'Asia/Tokyo'];
        zones.forEach(zone => {
          const now = DateTime.local().setZone(zone);
          console.log(zone + ': ' + now.toLocaleString(DateTime.DATETIME_FULL));
        });
      }

      showTimezones();
    

In this example, we get the current time in New York, London, and Tokyo and print it in a full date and time format. Luxon simplifies this task with its intuitive API.

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