datepicker in javascript code with example with code examples

Datepicker is an essential component for web applications that deal with date and time. It allows users to easily select a date from a calendar without having to type in the date manually. In this article, we will learn how to create a datepicker using JavaScript.

Creating a Datepicker in JavaScript

There are several ways to create a datepicker using JavaScript. In this article, we will discuss two methods:

Using the Datepicker widget from jQuery UI library
Creating a custom datepicker from scratch

Using the Datepicker widget from jQuery UI library

jQuery UI is a popular JavaScript library that provides various UI components, including datepicker. The library is easy to use and provides many customization options. To use the datepicker widget from jQuery UI, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Download and include the jQuery and jQuery UI library in your HTML file.

<head>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script>
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.12.1/jquery-ui.min.js"></script>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.12.1/themes/base/jquery-ui.css">
</head>

Step 2: Create an input element and add a class of datepicker to it.

<input type="text" class="datepicker">

Step 3: Initialize the datepicker widget using JavaScript.

<script>
  $(function() {
    $(".datepicker").datepicker();
  });
</script>

This will add a datepicker to the input element with the datepicker class.

Customizing the Datepicker widget

The datepicker widget from jQuery UI provides several options to customize its appearance and behavior. Here are some examples:

Set the default date:

$(".datepicker").datepicker({ defaultDate: new Date(2022, 1, 1) });

Set the minimum and maximum date:

$(".datepicker").datepicker({ minDate: new Date(2022, 0, 1), maxDate: new Date(2022, 11, 31) });

Disable certain dates:

$(".datepicker").datepicker({ beforeShowDay: function(date) {
  var day = date.getDay();
  return [(day != 0 && day != 6)];
}});

Creating a custom datepicker from scratch

If you want more control and want to create a custom datepicker from scratch, here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Create a container element for the datepicker.

<div id="datepicker"></div>

Step 2: Create a JavaScript function to render the datepicker.

function renderDatepicker() {
  var datepicker = document.getElementById("datepicker");
  datepicker.innerHTML = ""; // clear any previous content
  
  var currentDate = new Date();
  var currentMonth = currentDate.getMonth();
  var currentYear = currentDate.getFullYear();
  
  // create the header
  var header = document.createElement("div");
  header.classList.add("header");
  
  var prevButton = document.createElement("button");
  prevButton.classList.add("prev");
  prevButton.addEventListener("click", function() {
    currentMonth--;
    if (currentMonth < 0) {
      currentMonth = 11;
      currentYear--;
    }
    renderDatepicker();
  });
  header.appendChild(prevButton);
  
  var nextButton = document.createElement("button");
  nextButton.classList.add("next");
  nextButton.addEventListener("click", function() {
    currentMonth++;
    if (currentMonth > 11) {
      currentMonth = 0;
      currentYear++;
    }
    renderDatepicker();
  });
  header.appendChild(nextButton);
  
  var title = document.createElement("h3");
  title.innerText = months[currentMonth] + " " + currentYear;
  header.appendChild(title);
  
  datepicker.appendChild(header);
  
  // create the days of the week header
  var daysOfWeek = document.createElement("div");
  daysOfWeek.classList.add("days-of-week");
  var dayNames = ["Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat"];
  for (var i = 0; i < dayNames.length; i++) {
    var day = document.createElement("div");
    day.innerText = dayNames[i];
    daysOfWeek.appendChild(day);
  }
  datepicker.appendChild(daysOfWeek);
  
  // create the calendar
  var calendar = document.createElement("div");
  calendar.classList.add("calendar");
  
  var daysInMonth = getDaysInMonth(currentMonth, currentYear);
  var firstDayOfMonth = new Date(currentYear, currentMonth, 1).getDay();
  var lastDayOfMonth = new Date(currentYear, currentMonth, daysInMonth).getDay();
  
  // create blank cells for days before the first day of the month
  for (var i = 0; i < firstDayOfMonth; i++) {
    var cell = document.createElement("div");
    cell.classList.add("cell", "blank");
    calendar.appendChild(cell);
  }
  
  // create cells for each day of the month
  for (var i = 1; i <= daysInMonth; i++) {
    var cell = document.createElement("div");
    cell.classList.add("cell");
    cell.innerText = i;
    cell.addEventListener("click", function(event) {
      var selectedDate = new Date(currentYear, currentMonth, event.target.innerText);
      console.log(selectedDate);
      // do something with the selected date
    });
    calendar.appendChild(cell);
  }
  
  // create blank cells for days after the last day of the month
  for (var i = lastDayOfMonth; i < 6; i++) {
    var cell = document.createElement("div");
    cell.classList.add("cell", "blank");
    calendar.appendChild(cell);
  }
  
  datepicker.appendChild(calendar);
}

// helper function to get the number of days in a month
function getDaysInMonth(month, year) {
  return new Date(year, month + 1, 0).getDate();
}

// array of month names
var months = ["January", "February", "March", "April", "May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December"];

Step 3: Call the renderDatepicker function to display the datepicker.

renderDatepicker();

Customizing the custom datepicker

You can customize the custom datepicker by modifying the CSS styles. Here are some examples:

Change the background color of the header:

.header {
  background-color: #ddd;
}

Change the font size of the calendar cells:

.cell {
  font-size: 16px;
}

Conclusion

In this article, we learned how to create a datepicker using JavaScript. We discussed two methods: using the datepicker widget from jQuery UI library and creating a custom datepicker from scratch. We also learned how to customize the datepicker widget using various options and how to customize the custom datepicker by modifying the CSS styles.

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datepicker in javascript code with example with code examples

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Ahmed Galal

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