JavaScript: Get a textual representation of a day

JavaScript Datetime: Exercise-20 with Solution

Short Day Name

Write a JavaScript function to get a textual representation of a day (three letters, Mon through Sun).

Test Data:
dt = new Date(2015, 10, 1);
console.log(short_Days(dt));
"Sun"

Sample Solution:

JavaScript Code:

// Define a property 'shortDays' on the Date object to store an array of short day names
Date.shortDays = ['Sun', 'Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri', 'Sat'];

// Define a JavaScript function called short_Days with parameter dt (date)
function short_Days(dt)
{ 
   // Return the short day name corresponding to the day of the week of the provided date
   return Date.shortDays[dt.getDay()];
}

// Create a new Date object representing the current date
dt = new Date();
// Output the short day name for the current date
console.log(short_Days(dt));

// Create a new Date object representing November 1, 2015
dt = new Date(2015, 10, 1);
// Output the short day name for November 1, 2015
console.log(short_Days(dt));

Output:

Tue
Sun

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

• The code defines a property 'shortDays' on the "Date" object, which is an array containing abbreviated day names ('Sun', 'Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri', 'Sat').
• It then defines a JavaScript function named 'short_Days' with one parameter 'dt', representing a Date object.
• Inside the "short_Days()" function:
• It retrieves the day of the week (0 for Sunday, 1 for Monday, ..., 6 for Saturday) from the provided Date object "dt" using the "getDay()" method.
• It uses this day of the week as an index to access the corresponding abbreviated day name from the 'Date.shortDays' array.
• It returns the abbreviated day name.
• The code then demonstrates the usage of the "short_Days()" function:
• It creates a new Date object "dt" representing the current date (new Date()).
• It outputs the abbreviated day name for the current date by calling the "short_Days()" function with 'dt' and logging the result to the console.
• It creates another new Date object 'dt' representing November 1, 2015 (new Date(2015, 10, 1)).
• It outputs the abbreviated day name for November 1, 2015 by calling the short_Days function with dt and logging the result to the console.

Flowchart:

Live Demo:

See the Pen JavaScript - Get a textual representation of a day-date-ex-20 by w3resource (@w3resource) on CodePen.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a JavaScript function that returns a three-letter abbreviation of the day from a Date object by mapping getDay() to a short name array.
• Write a JavaScript function that converts a full weekday name to its abbreviated form using substring methods.
• Write a JavaScript function that validates a Date object and returns the short day name in uppercase.
• Write a JavaScript function that handles different locales to output a three-letter day name appropriately.

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