def getDate(self):
        _sdate = self.tbox.getText()
        try:
            return datetime.strptime(_sdate, self.format).date()
        except ValueError:
            return None
returns datetime.date object or None if empty/unparsable by current format
dataset/ETHPy150Open pyjs/pyjs/pyjswidgets/pyjamas/ui/Calendar.py/DateField.getDate