this sort of works ...
public function parse(source:String):Date {
var ret:Date = new Date(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
var parts:Array = source.split("-");
ret.fullYear = Number(parts[2]);
ret.setDate(Number(parts[0]));
var month:int = "jan,feb,mar,apr,may,jun,jul,aug,sep,oct,now,dec".split(",").indexOf(String(parts[1]).toLowerCase());
if (month == -1) throw "could not parse month";
ret.setMonth(month);
return ret;
}
but really, i don't like it ... if 'DEC' were 'Dec' , then
Date.parse("23-Dec-2008".split("-").join(" "))
would work ... but still ... i think, you should get something more robust ...