JavaScript: Get a short textual representation of a month

JavaScript Datetime: Exercise-27 with Solution

Short Month Name

Write a JavaScript function to get a short textual representation of a month, three letters (Jan through Dec).

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

Sample Solution:

JavaScript Code:

// Define a property 'shortMonths' on the Date object to store an array of short month names
Date.shortMonths = ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun', 'Jul', 'Aug', 'Sep', 'Oct', 'Nov', 'Dec'];

// Define a JavaScript function called short_months with parameter dt (date)
function short_months(dt)
{ 
  // Return the short month name corresponding to the month of the provided date
  return Date.shortMonths[dt.getMonth()]; 
}

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

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

Output:

Jun
Nov

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

• The code defines a property 'shortMonths' on the "Date" object, which is an array containing the short names of months ('Jan', 'Feb', ..., 'Dec').
• It then defines a JavaScript function named "short_months()" with one parameter 'dt', representing a Date object.
• Inside the short_months function:
• It retrieves the month index (0 for January, 1 for February, ..., 11 for December) from the provided Date object "dt" using the "getMonth()" method.
• It uses this month index as an index to access the corresponding short month name from the 'Date.shortMonths' array.
• It returns the short month name.
• The code then demonstrates the usage of the short_months function:
• It creates a new Date object "dt" representing the current date using 'new Date()'.
• It outputs the short month name for the current date by calling the "short_months()" function with 'dt' and logging the result to the console.
• It creates another new Date object "dt" representing November 1, 2015, using 'new Date(2015, 10, 1)'.
• It outputs the short month name for November 1, 2015, by calling the "short_months()" function with 'dt' and logging the result to the console.

Flowchart:

Live Demo:

See the Pen JavaScript - Get a short textual representation of a month-date-ex-27 by w3resource (@w3resource) on CodePen.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a JavaScript function that returns a three-letter abbreviation of the month from a Date object using a months array.
• Write a JavaScript function that converts a full month name to its short form using substring methods.
• Write a JavaScript function that supports multiple locales and returns the abbreviated month name accordingly.
• Write a JavaScript function that validates the month index and outputs its short name in title case.

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