What happens here? Why an instance of Date is created in this example:
String dataFormatada = new Date().format("dd/MM/yyyy")
In this example we did not use new :
def data = Date.parse('dd/MM/yyyy', '31/12/1980')
When should I use new?
You must always use new to instantiate a class, that is, to create a new instance of a given object. In this case, when you create a new instance of Date it already comes with the current date.
In the example
def data = Date.parse('dd/MM/yyyy', '31/12/1980')
You are not creating a new instance of Date and that is why you do not need to use new . parse is a static method, which returns an object of type Date . In this case, it gets a String and its format and returns (returns) Date referenced.
@Aline, do not use new in def data = Date.parse('dd/MM/yyyy', '31/12/1980') , because Date#parse(String, String) is a static method, not a constructor, and, looking at class Date , this method returns an instance of Date removed from a object Calendar by method Calendar#getTime .
String dataFormatada = new Date (). format ("dd / MM / yyyy")
String dataFormatada is receiving today's date in the format "dd / MM / yyyy";
def date = Date.parse ('dd / MM / yyyy', '31 / 12/1980 ')
data is getting the value '31 / 12/1980 '. Since you already have the date, you do not need new .
new Date() will return today's date for you, and the format is for formatting any way you want.