public abstract StringBuffer format (Date date, StringBuffer buf, FieldPosition pos);
public final StringBuffer format (Object obj, StringBuffer buf, FieldPosition pos) { if (obj instanceof Number) obj = new Date(((Number) obj).longValue()); else if (! (obj instanceof Date)) throw new IllegalArgumentException ("Cannot format given Object as a Date");  return format ((Date) obj, buf, pos); }
  public abstract StringBuffer format (Date date,				       StringBuffer buf, FieldPosition pos);