Compare Date Time Using before() Method of Java Calendar

The Calendar.before() method returns whether this Calendar's time is before the time represented by the specified Object.

First, let us set a date which is in the past (past date)

Calendar beforeDate = Calendar.getInstance();
beforeDate.set(Calendar.YEAR, 2010);
beforeDate.set(Calendar.MONTH, 05);
beforeDate.set(Calendar.DATE, 30);

Here is our date, which is 11-22-2018

Calendar currentDate = Calendar.getInstance();

Now, use the before() method to compare both the dates as shown in the following example

Example

 Live Demo

import java.util.Calendar;
public class Demo {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      Calendar beforeDate = Calendar.getInstance();
      beforeDate.set(Calendar.YEAR, 2010);
      beforeDate.set(Calendar.MONTH, 05);
      beforeDate.set(Calendar.DATE, 30);
      java.util.Date dt = beforeDate.getTime();
      System.out.println("Past Date = "+dt);
      Calendar currentDate = Calendar.getInstance();
      System.out.println("Current date = " + (currentDate.get(Calendar.MONTH) + 1) + "-" +
      currentDate.get(Calendar.DATE) + "-" + currentDate.get(Calendar.YEAR));
      System.out.println("Date "+dt+ " is before current date? = " +          beforeDate.before(currentDate));
      }
}

Output

Past Date = Wed Jun 30 13:14:28 UTC 2010
Current date = 11-22-2018
Date Wed Jun 30 13:14:28 UTC 2010 is before current date? = true