title: A non-deprecated exact equivalent of Date(String s) in Java?
body: <p>I have old code that uses <code>new Date(dateString)</code> to parse a date string. Compiling the code produces the deprecation warning <em><code>Date(java.lang.String) in java.util.Date has been deprecated</code></em>.</p>
  
  <p>The javadoc unhelpfully advises me to use <code>DateFormat.parse()</code>, even though the <code>DateFormat</code> class does not have a static <code>parse</code> method.</p>
  
  <p>Now, I know how to use <code>SimpleDateFormat</code>, but I want to make sure I'm getting the <strong>exact same behaviour</strong> of the deperecated <code>Date</code> constructor.</p>