How the NEW Temporal API Finally Fixed JavaScript’s 30-Year Time Problem

Hello folks, I think it was time for this update. I mean, you could work with Date, but it sucks. A lot. Time zone handling was limited and inconsistent Parsing behavior was unreliable across browsers Mutability. Methods like setDate() or setMonth() modified the original object Months were zero-based (0 for January), resulting in off-by-one errors No support for durations or date arithmetic Formatting and localization were inconsistent across browsers Calendar systems were not supported… and so on and so forth Want smart web dev tips like this delivered straight to your inbox? JavaScript, CSS, performance, best practices, and tools like Temporal that actually make your life easier. → Follow 300+ webdevs and join the newsletter Introducing the New Temporal API Temporal is a new API introduced in ECMAScript 2022 designed to replace the broken Date — completely. In comparsion to the Date it is not a Constructor. Temporal is a namespace, like Intl, which means, you cannot use it with the new operator or call it as a function as well. This provides you with: Immutable data structures Precise time zone and calendar control Consistent parsing and formatting An API design based on value objects It doesn’t mutate. It doesn’t guess. It doesn’t surprise you. Temporal has a complicated but extremely powerful API. It provides over 200 methods across multiple classes, so it can seem very complex. But I am here to break down what you really need. Continue reading the full article here

May 9, 2025 - 16:09

How the NEW Temporal API Finally Fixed JavaScript’s 30-Year Time Problem

Hello folks, I think it was time for this update.

I mean, you could work with Date, but it sucks. A lot.

Time zone handling was limited and inconsistent
Parsing behavior was unreliable across browsers
Mutability. Methods like setDate() or setMonth() modified the original object
Months were zero-based (0 for January), resulting in off-by-one errors
No support for durations or date arithmetic
Formatting and localization were inconsistent across browsers
Calendar systems were not supported… and so on and so forth

Want smart web dev tips like this delivered straight to your inbox?
JavaScript, CSS, performance, best practices, and tools like Temporal that actually make your life easier.
→ Follow 300+ webdevs and join the newsletter

Introducing the New Temporal API

Temporal is a new API introduced in ECMAScript 2022 designed to replace the broken Date — completely.

In comparsion to the Date it is not a Constructor. Temporal is a namespace, like Intl, which means, you cannot use it with the new operator or call it as a function as well.

This provides you with:

Immutable data structures
Precise time zone and calendar control
Consistent parsing and formatting
An API design based on value objects

It doesn’t mutate. It doesn’t guess. It doesn’t surprise you.

Temporal has a complicated but extremely powerful API. It provides over 200 methods across multiple classes, so it can seem very complex.

But I am here to break down what you really need.

Continue reading the full article here