Java: how do I check if a Date is within a certain range?

Question

I have a series of ranges with start dates and end dates. I want to check to see if a date is within that range.

Date.before() and Date.after() seem to be a little a

Answer 1

Consider using Joda Time. I love this library and wish it would replace the current horrible mess that are the existing Java Date and Calendar classes. It's date handling done right.

EDIT: It's not 2009 any more, and Java 8's been out for ages. Use Java 8's built in java.time classes which are based on Joda Time, as Basil Bourque mentions above. In this case you'll want the Period class, and here's Oracle's tutorial on how to use it.