Get yesterday's date using Date

Mind the time zone

Time zones matter. Today in New York might be yesterday in Sydney. So, when handling dates, consider the user's time zone:

TimeZone tz = TimeZone.getDefault(); // Home sweet home
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance(tz);
cal.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);  // One small step back…
Date yesterday = cal.getTime(); // …a giant leap to yesterday
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The code treats calendar.getInstance(tz) as local time, ensuring that "yesterday" is truly yesterday for the user.

Modernizing with java.time

Java 8 introduced the java.time package, offering a more elegant approach:

LocalDate yesterday = LocalDate.now().minusDays(1);  // Apple dropping “Mac” from MacBook
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This gets yesterday's date quicker than you can say "Deprecated!"

Date formatting with SimpleDateFormat

String out a date in a pretty pattern using SimpleDateFormat:

SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd"); // My kind of grammar
Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
cal.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);  // Walking down memory lane
String formattedDate = sdf.format(cal.getTime());  // Polished to perfection
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Here, we dress yesterday's date in the user-friendly "yyyy-MM-dd" format.

Edge cases - the odd ones out

Expect the unexpected. Edge cases like leap years and month starts might throw a spanner in the works:

Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
if (cal.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH) == 1) {  // Is it the first?
    cal.add(Calendar.MONTH, -1);  // Go back, way back
    cal.set(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH, cal.getActualMaximum(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH));
} else {
    cal.add(Calendar.DATE, -1); // Usual drill
}
Date yesterday = cal.getTime(); // Foolproof yesterday!
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This concoction ensures yesterday's date remains consistent, even on edge cases.

A maintainable and updatable solution

Future-proof your code. Encapsulating logic in a dynamic function ensures your solution stands the test of time:

public static Date getYesterday() {
    Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance(TimeZone.getDefault()); // Local time
    cal.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);  // Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…
    return cal.getTime();
}
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It's flexible, maintainable, and understandable, just like a great haircut.

The power of milliseconds

Tap into the precise and rich world of milliseconds for date calculation:

long millisInADay = 86_400_000L;  // That's a long wait
Date yesterday = new Date(System.currentTimeMillis() - millisInADay);  // Feels shorter this way
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You've now surfed from the current time back to yesterday on a wave of milliseconds.

Resources for hands-on experiences

If you prefer seeing code in action, the IDEOne Demo helps you visualize date calculations in a real-world context.