Need help with calculate the number of seconds

I'm really new to java program and i need help with my homework assignment. I have no idea where to start it. Please help me out here is the question...

1) Write a Java program to calculate the number of seconds that have passed since the stroke of midnight in London on New Years Eve, 1970. Your program should not be long, just a few lines of code. (Hint - don’t try and calculate the result yourself, browse through the Java API and find some help there…)


hxxp://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/index.html

Hint: Look at the System class.

is it public static long currentTimeMillis()? how do i use it...

Have you read the API? If so, it should be pretty clear.

I'm reading it right now... the problem is i have never used API. I don't know how to use it...

Quote:

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public static long currentTimeMillis()

Returns the current time in milliseconds.

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What primitive type does it return? How can you use this type (declare it to a variable) to display the result? I'm sure you've learned that much.