class Date

def acts_like_date?

Duck-types as a Date-like class. See Object#acts_like?.
def acts_like_date?
  true
end

def advance(options)

any of these keys: :years, :months, :weeks, :days.
Provides precise Date calculations for years, months, and days. The +options+ parameter takes a hash with
def advance(options)
  options = options.dup
  d = self
  d = d >> options.delete(:years) * 12 if options[:years]
  d = d >> options.delete(:months)     if options[:months]
  d = d +  options.delete(:weeks) * 7  if options[:weeks]
  d = d +  options.delete(:days)       if options[:days]
  d
end

def ago(seconds)

and then subtracts the specified number of seconds.
Converts Date to a Time (or DateTime if necessary) with the time portion set to the beginning of the day (0:00)
def ago(seconds)
  in_time_zone.since(-seconds)
end

def as_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:

:nodoc:
def as_json(options = nil) #:nodoc:
  if ActiveSupport::JSON::Encoding.use_standard_json_time_format
    strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
  else
    strftime("%Y/%m/%d")
  end
end

def beginning_of_day

Converts Date to a Time (or DateTime if necessary) with the time portion set to the beginning of the day (0:00)
def beginning_of_day
  in_time_zone
end

def beginning_of_week

If no config.beginning_of_week was specified, returns :monday.
If Date.beginning_of_week has not been set for the current request, returns the week start specified in config.beginning_of_week.
Returns the week start (e.g. :monday) for the current request, if this has been set (via Date.beginning_of_week=).
def beginning_of_week
  Thread.current[:beginning_of_week] || beginning_of_week_default || :monday
end

def beginning_of_week=(week_start)

:monday, :tuesday, :wednesday, :thursday, :friday, :saturday, :sunday
This method accepts any of the following day symbols:

Sets Date.beginning_of_week to a week start (e.g. :monday) for current request/thread.
def beginning_of_week=(week_start)
  Thread.current[:beginning_of_week] = find_beginning_of_week!(week_start)
end

def blank?

Returns:
  • (false) -
def blank?
  false
end

def change(options)

Date.new(2007, 5, 12).change(year: 2005, month: 1) # => Date.new(2005, 1, 12)
Date.new(2007, 5, 12).change(day: 1) # => Date.new(2007, 5, 1)

The +options+ parameter is a hash with a combination of these keys: :year, :month, :day.
Returns a new Date where one or more of the elements have been changed according to the +options+ parameter.
def change(options)
  ::Date.new(
    options.fetch(:year, year),
    options.fetch(:month, month),
    options.fetch(:day, day)
  )
end

def compare_with_coercion(other)

Allow Date to be compared with Time by converting to DateTime and relying on the <=> from there.
def compare_with_coercion(other)
  if other.is_a?(Time)
    self.to_datetime <=> other
  else
    compare_without_coercion(other)
  end
end

def current

Returns Time.zone.today when Time.zone or config.time_zone are set, otherwise just returns Date.today.
def current
  ::Time.zone ? ::Time.zone.today : ::Date.today
end

def end_of_day

Converts Date to a Time (or DateTime if necessary) with the time portion set to the end of the day (23:59:59)
def end_of_day
  in_time_zone.end_of_day
end

def find_beginning_of_week!(week_start)

Returns week start day symbol (e.g. :monday), or raises an +ArgumentError+ for invalid day symbol.
def find_beginning_of_week!(week_start)
  raise ArgumentError, "Invalid beginning of week: #{week_start}" unless ::Date::DAYS_INTO_WEEK.key?(week_start)
  week_start
end

def middle_of_day

Converts Date to a Time (or DateTime if necessary) with the time portion set to the middle of the day (12:00)
def middle_of_day
  in_time_zone.middle_of_day
end

def minus_with_duration(other) #:nodoc:

:nodoc:
def minus_with_duration(other) #:nodoc:
  if ActiveSupport::Duration === other
    plus_with_duration(-other)
  else
    minus_without_duration(other)
  end
end

def plus_with_duration(other) #:nodoc:

:nodoc:
def plus_with_duration(other) #:nodoc:
  if ActiveSupport::Duration === other
    other.since(self)
  else
    plus_without_duration(other)
  end
end

def readable_inspect

Overrides the default inspect method with a human readable one, e.g., "Mon, 21 Feb 2005"
def readable_inspect
  strftime('%a, %d %b %Y')
end

def since(seconds)

and then adds the specified number of seconds
Converts Date to a Time (or DateTime if necessary) with the time portion set to the beginning of the day (0:00)
def since(seconds)
  in_time_zone.since(seconds)
end

def to_formatted_s(format = :default)

Date::DATE_FORMATS[:short_ordinal] = ->(date) { date.strftime("%B #{date.day.ordinalize}") }
Date::DATE_FORMATS[:month_and_year] = '%B %Y'
# config/initializers/date_formats.rb

or Proc instance that takes a date argument as the value.
Use the format name as the hash key and either a strftime string
You can add your own formats to the Date::DATE_FORMATS hash.
== Adding your own date formats to to_formatted_s

date.to_formatted_s(:iso8601) # => "2007-11-10"
date.to_formatted_s(:rfc822) # => "10 Nov 2007"
date.to_formatted_s(:long_ordinal) # => "November 10th, 2007"
date.to_formatted_s(:long) # => "November 10, 2007"
date.to_formatted_s(:number) # => "20071110"
date.to_formatted_s(:short) # => "10 Nov"

date.to_s(:db) # => "2007-11-10"
date.to_formatted_s(:db) # => "2007-11-10"

date = Date.new(2007, 11, 10) # => Sat, 10 Nov 2007

This method is aliased to to_s.

Convert to a formatted string. See DATE_FORMATS for predefined formats.
def to_formatted_s(format = :default)
  if formatter = DATE_FORMATS[format]
    if formatter.respond_to?(:call)
      formatter.call(self).to_s
    else
      strftime(formatter)
    end
  else
    to_default_s
  end
end

def to_time(form = :local)

date.to_time(:utc) # => 2007-11-10 00:00:00 UTC

date.to_time(:local) # => 2007-11-10 00:00:00 0800
date.to_time # => 2007-11-10 00:00:00 0800

date = Date.new(2007, 11, 10) # => Sat, 10 Nov 2007

The timezone can be either :local or :utc (default :local).
Converts a Date instance to a Time, where the time is set to the beginning of the day.
def to_time(form = :local)
  raise ArgumentError, "Expected :local or :utc, got #{form.inspect}." unless [:local, :utc].include?(form)
  ::Time.send(form, year, month, day)
end

def tomorrow

Returns a new Date representing the date 1 day after today (i.e. tomorrow's date).
def tomorrow
  ::Date.current.tomorrow
end

def xmlschema

date.xmlschema # => "2015-05-23T00:00:00+04:00"
date = Date.new(2015, 05, 23) # => Sat, 23 May 2015

defined by XML Schema:
Returns a string which represents the time in used time zone as DateTime
def xmlschema
  in_time_zone.xmlschema
end

def yesterday

Returns a new Date representing the date 1 day ago (i.e. yesterday's date).
def yesterday
  ::Date.current.yesterday
end