Alternatives for java.util.Date

Note: This answer is most likely no longer accurate for Java 8 and beyond, there is a better date/calendar API now.

The standard alternate is using the Calendar Object.

Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance(); // that is NOW for the timezone configured on the computer.
cal.set(Calendar.HOUR, 0);
cal.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 0);
cal.set(Calendar.SECOND, 0);
Date date = cal.getTime();

Calendar has the advantage to come without additional libraries and is widely understood. It is also the documented alternative from the Javadoc of Date

The documentation of Calendar can be found here: Javadoc

Calendar has one dangerous point (for the unwary) and that is the after / before methods. They take an Object but will only handle Calendar Objects correctly. Be sure to read the Javadoc for these methods closely before using them.

You can transform Calendar Objects in quite some way like add a day (cal.add(Calendar.DAY_OF_YEAR, 1);) or "scroll" through the week (cal.roll(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK, 1);) and such. Have a read of the class description in the Javadoc to get the full picture.

The best alternative is to use the Joda Time API:

Date date = new DateMidnight().toDate();     // today at 00:00

To avoid the to-be deprecated DateMidnight:

Date date = new DateTime().withMillisOfDay(0).toDate();