You can also use java.text.SimpleDateFormat: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html
import java.text.*;
import java.util.*;
public class DateExample {
public static void main(String[] args) throws ParseException {
SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm");
String s = "2003-9-30 12:30";
Date date = format.parse(s);
System.out.println(date);
//if you need a java.sql.Timestamp, because of JDBC
java.sql.Timestamp timestamp = new java.sql.Timestamp(date.getTime());
System.out.println(timestamp);
}
}