Date format strings in .Net and Java
I have an application that runs on both **C# .Net** and **Java**. Two entirely separate but identical code bases. The problem Im having is formatting date and numbers. 

For example: A user running the .Net variant is inputting a date and a format string. The 26th of April 1986 is formatted 1986-04-26. The actual date, along with the format string, is serialized to an XML file. Later another user running the Java variant opens said XML file and looks at the date. I want them to look the same.

Whats the best approach here? There doesnt seem to be a one-to-one mapping between Java and .Nets format strings. Should I limit the possible formats to a selection I know I can represent fully in both .Net and Java?


Date format strings in .Net and Java
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I have an application that runs on both **C# .Net** and **Java**. Two entirely separate but identical code bases. The problem Im having is formatting date and numbers. 

For example: A user running the .Net variant is inputting a date and a format string. The 26th of April 1986 is formatted 1986-04-26. The actual date, along with the format string, is serialized to an XML file. Later another user running the Java variant opens said XML file and looks at the date. I want them to look the same.

Whats the best approach here? There doesnt seem to be a one-to-one mapping between Java and .Nets format strings. Should I limit the possible formats to a selection I know I can represent fully in both .Net and Java?

