parse() from SimpleDateFormat class helps to convert a String pattern into a Date object.

DateFormat dateFormat = DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.SHORT, Locale.US);
String dateStr = "02/25/2016"; // input String
Date date = dateFormat.parse(dateStr);
System.out.println(date.getYear()); // 116

There are 4 different styles for the text format, SHORT, MEDIUM (this is the default), LONG and FULL, all of which depend on the locale. If no locale is specified, the system default locale is used.

Style | Locale.US | Locale.France | —— | ––––––––––– | —————– | SHORT | 6/30/09 | 30/06/09 | MEDIUM | Jun 30, 2009 | 30 juin 2009 | LONG | June 30, 2009 | 30 juin 2009 | FULL | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | mardi 30 juin 2009|