What is the Duration.abs() method in Java?

The abs() method is an instance method of the Duration class which returns a positive copy of any negative duration. For example, PT-1H will be returned as PT1H.

Syntax

public Duration abs()

Parameters

This method has no parameters.

Return value

This method returns a new Duration object with an absolute length of duration.

Code

The widget below shows the abs() method being used.

import java.time.Duration;
public class Main{
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Example 1
        Duration duration = Duration.ofHours(100);
        Duration absDuration = duration.abs();
        System.out.printf("Original duration - %s; Absolute Duration - %s", duration, absDuration);
        System.out.println();
        // Example 2
        duration = Duration.ofHours(-100);
        absDuration = duration.abs();
        System.out.printf("Original duration - %s; Absolute Duration - %s", duration, absDuration);
    }
}

Explanation

  • import java.time.Duration; in line 1 is used to import the Duration class.
  • In Example 1, the abs() method returns PT100H for duration PT100H as the sign is positive and no change of sign is needed.
  • In Example 2, the abs() method returns PT100H for duration PT-100H with the negative sign removed.

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