code: static public long getDateTime(String s, String format, TimeZone tz)
      {
          long ret = 0L;
          SimpleDateFormat df = null;
  
          try
          {
              if(s != null && s.length() > 0)
              {
                  df = formatPool.getFormat(format);
                  df.setTimeZone(tz);
                  Date dt = df.parse(s);
                  ret = dt.getTime();
              }
          }
          catch(Exception e)
          {
          }
  
          if(df != null)
              formatPool.release(df);
  
          return ret;
      }
docs: Returns the given date time parsed using the given format.
  @param s The formatted date to be parsed
  @param format The format to use when parsing the date
  @param tz The timezone associated with the date
  @return The given date parsed using the given format