Sort list of dates from a specific given date

[Himalay Majumdar]

/***************************************************************
             List<Date> dateMonthDay = new ArrayList<Date>();
	    //Lets say the list contains  [Apr, Jan, Feb, Apr, Jan]. The dates are in "mmm" format
		
            //make a unique list using set
            Set<Date> set2 = new HashSet<Date>(dateMonthDay);
            dateMonthDay = new ArrayList<Date>(set2);
	    // [Apr, Jan, Feb]


	    //sort the list using Comparator
            Collections.sort(dateMonthDay, new DateComparator());
	   //[Jan, Feb, Apr]

/***************************************************************


    public class DateComparator implements Comparator<Date> {
        public int compare(Date d1, Date d2) {
            return d1.compareTo(d2);
        }
    }

I need to find a way to Sort List from a specific date given as input. Let say the date given is Feb, I need to sort the list as [Feb, Apr, Jan]

Any clean way of doing this, do I need modify comparator.

Thanks,
Himalay

[Christophe Verré]

If months were numbers (1 to 12), you could add +12 to any month below the month you are setting in priority. For example, let's say that Jan=1, Feb=2, ... Dec=12.
If you specify "sort from March", then Jan=Jan+12, Feb=Feb+12, Mar=3, ... Dec=12. So after sorting, Mar=3,...,Dec=12,Jan=13,Feb=14.

From there, you should figure out what to do with your comparator.

[Himalay Majumdar]

The format 'mmm' I mentioned for simplicity. Its actually 'mmm dd' so the list can have [Apr 16, Jan 21, May 05].
Can you please elaborate with some code, running on a short deadline.

[Christophe Verré]

The format 'mmm' I mentioned for simplicity.

You see how simplicity could ruin everything. When you have a problem, you are supposed to explain what the problem is, not what a part of the problem is.

Anyway, the logic still holds:
Searching for Feb 12 (0212), add +1200 to anything before 0212.
Feb12(0212), Mar04(0304), Dec25(1225),Feb11(1411)

Javaranch is NotACodeMill, so I'd like you to come up with some code