Convert from String to date

public static java.sql.Date getSqlDate(String strDate) {
java.sql.Date sqlDate=null;
if(strDate!=null && !strDate.equals("")){
SimpleDateFormat formatter=null;
try{
formatter=new SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy");
sqlDate = new java.sql.Date( (formatter.parse(strDate)).getTime() );
}catch(ParseException e){
// log.debug("Exception while converting to sql date: " + strDate);
e.printStackTrace();
}finally{
formatter=null;
}
}
return sqlDate;
}