code: public static java.sql.Date getDateMMDDYYYY(String date) throws NumberFormatException, IllegalArgumentException {
  		synchronized(StringUtility.class) {
  			int len = date.length();
  			if (len == 0) return null;
  			if (len != 8) throw new IllegalArgumentException("Date must be in MMDDYYYY format: " + date);
  			return new java.sql.Date(
  				new GregorianCalendar(
  					Integer.parseInt(date.substring(4, 8)),
  					Integer.parseInt(date.substring(0, 2))-1,
  					Integer.parseInt(date.substring(2, 4))
  				).getTime().getTime()
  			);
  		}
  	}
docs: Converts a date in a the format MMDDYYYY to a <code>Date</code>.
  
  @param  date  a <code>String</code> containing the date in MMDDYYYY format.
  
  @return  <code>null</code> if <code>date</code> is <code>null</code>, a <code>java.sql.Date</code>
  otherwise