mini-classe di test, compilata ed eseguita con jdk/jre 6
codice:
import java.text.*;
import java.util.*;

/**
 *
 * @author Andrea
 */
public class Esercizio21 {
    
    public static void main (String[] args) {
        String pattern = "dd/MM/yyyy hh.mm.ss";
        String dateString = "07/01/2011 14.41.31";
        SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat(pattern);
        try {
            long timestamp = sdf.parse(dateString).getTime();
            System.out.println(timestamp);
        }
        catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
    
}
stampa: 1294407691000