code: public void setDate(String dateString)
      {
  		Date date = null;
  		try	{
              if ((dateString != null) && (dateString.length() > 0))
                  date = dateFormat.parse(dateString);
  		} catch (Exception e)	{
              date = null;
  		}
          this.setDate(date);
      }
docs: Validate and set the datetime field on the screen given a datetime string.
  @param dateTime The datetime string