How can I parse this string to NSDate with NSDateFormatter? - objective-c

I have a date as a string in the format:
2010-12-31 20:21:00 +0200
What I'd like to do is parse this using NSDateFormatter to an NSDate object but I'm having difficulty matching the format properly.
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = NSDateFormatter.alloc.init;
[dateFormatter setTimeZone: NSTimeZone.localTimeZone];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat: #"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'Z'"];
[dateFormatter dateFromString: #"2010-12-31 20:21:00 +0200"] // returns nil ;
Can anybody help me find the correct format? thanks

This code works:
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = NSDateFormatter.alloc.init;
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:NSTimeZone.localTimeZone];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:#"2010-12-31 20:21:00 +0200"];
NSLog(#"%#", [dateFormatter stringFromDate:date]);
And I just want you to know, kind sir, that my eyes bleed when I see this NSDateFormatter.alloc.init

NSDateFormatter* format = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[format setDateFormat:#"MM/dd/YYYY"];
NSString * currentDate = [format stringFromDate:[NSDate date]];
NSDate *date = [format dateFromString:currentDate];

Related

NSDate returning nil for the NSDateFormatter set correctly

I am getting the date in NSString format as mentioned below.
Input:datestring = 30/04/2013 04:49 PM
I am applying the format for NSDateformatter as mentioned below to convert this NSString to NSDate .
Format:dateFormat= dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm a
I still get the date conversion to Nil. Please help as I am not understanding this issue.Here is my code snippet to explain what i am doing in the utility function.
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:dateFormat];
NSDate *date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString];
return date;
Try This....
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm a"];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneWithAbbreviation:#"UTC"]];
NSDate *date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:#"30/04/2013 04:49 PM"];
NSLog(#"%#",date);

NSDateFormatter stringFromDate not returning a string

I'm trying to change a saved date to mountain standard time using NSDateFormatter but it doesn't seem to be working.
it's outputting
"currentDate: 2013-02-22 23:20:20 +0000 date With date formatter: other 2000-01-01 07:00:00 +0000"
to the console.
It looks like the string isn't being created correctly, but I seem to be calling it in the same way I've seen it called normally.
Suggestions?
NSTimeZone * mtnTimeZ= [NSTimeZone timeZoneWithAbbreviation:#"MST"];
NSDate *currentDate = [NSDate date];
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:mtnTimeZ];
NSString * timeZ = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:currentDate];
NSDate * newDate = [dateFormatter dateFromString:timeZ];
NSLog(#"currentDate: %# string With dateFormatter: %# date made from string %#", currentDate, timeZ, newDate);
You need to set the style for specify date and time formats in order of it to work:
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterFullStyle];
[dateFormatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterFullStyle];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone defaultTimeZone]];
NSString * dateCurrentTZ = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:[NSDate date]];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneWithAbbreviation:#"MST"]];
NSString * dateMSTZ = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:[NSDate date]];
NSLog(#"Date In Current Time Zone: %#", dateCurrentTZ);
NSLog(#"Date In MST: %#", dateMSTZ);
In case you want to specify your own format:
NSDateFormatter Documentation
Then look for "Fixed Formats" based on iOS & Mac OSX ver. you are targeting.
Try putting the following line:
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"];
like this:
NSTimeZone * mtnTimeZ= [NSTimeZone timeZoneWithAbbreviation:#"MST"];
NSDate *currentDate = [NSDate date];
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:mtnTimeZ];
NSString * timeZ = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:currentDate];
NSDate * newDate = [dateFormatter dateFromString:timeZ];
NSLog(#"currentDate: %# string With dateFormatter: %# date made from string %#", currentDate, timeZ, newDate);

NSString to NSDate conversion issue

I have Date is 2012-09-25 09:33:10 +0000 , using
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"];
NSDate *d = [dateFormatter dateFromString:sDate];
// sDate = #"2012-September-21"
But i get nil , instead of a formatter date. What can be the issue ?
Since your sDate = #"2012-September-21", it does not have time (hour minutes and seconds) in your string sDate. So you should set your format like this
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd"];
You don't include time into string. You also need to fix the locale:
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd"];
[dateFormatter setLocale:[NSLocale localeWithLocaleIdentifier:#"en_US"]];
[dateFormatter dateFromString:#"2012-September-21"];
From your question it is not clear that what is input, but i have tested with below given input it is working
NSString *dateString = #"2012-09-25 09:33:10";
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[[NSDateFormatter alloc] init] autorelease];
dateFormatter.dateFormat = #"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss";
NSDate *date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString];

NSString to NSDate returns wrong date

I try to convert my NSString to NSDate object, but NSDateFormatter returns me a strange value.
Here is code:
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:#"2012-08-15 00:00"];
[dateFormat release];
date value is 2012-08-14 21:00 +0000. It is 3 hours difference between NSString value and NSDate value. I think I've missed something, but I don't know what.
This is what i use:
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss ZZZ"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:#"2012-08-15 00:00:00 +0000"];
NSLog(#"\n\n DATE: %# \n\n\n", date);
The +0000 is timezone, so make sure you use your timezone, like +0400.
Edit:
If you can't change the string, you can use this code to do it:
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm"];
[dateFormat setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneForSecondsFromGMT:0]];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:#"2012-08-15 00:00"];
As i knew NSDate holds Grinwich time, so if you are in Moscow time zone, everything is wright
In objective c for NSDate if you did not set the setTimeZone, NSDate will take default timezone as localTimeZone. so if you need to get the exact date which you give as NSString string format, you need to setTimeZone as UTC. Follow the sample code, I guess it will be helpful for you.
NSDateFormatter *loacalformatter=[[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[loacalformatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"];
NSDate *localDate =[loacalformatter dateFromString:#"2012-08-15 00:00"];
NSLog(#"localDate :%#",localDate);
NSDateFormatter *UTCformatter=[[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[UTCformatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneWithName:#"UTC"]];
[UTCformatter setDateFormat:#"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"];
NSDate *UTCDate =[UTCformatter dateFromString:#"2012-08-15 00:00"];
NSLog(#"UTCDate :%#",UTCDate);
UTCDate :2012-08-15 00:00 +0000 (GMT+00:00)
As suggested in the comments, if the date you receive is UTC then you need to convert it to your local timezone. Apple recommend you always use a properly configured NSDateFormatter when displaying dates, to handle localisation issues.
Here's some example code for turning an NSDate into an NSString:
NSDate *date = // initialised elsewhere
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
dateFormat.locale = [NSLocale currentLocale];
dateFormat.timeZone = [NSTimeZone localTimeZone];
dateFormat.timeStyle = NSDateFormatterShortStyle;
dateFormat.dateStyle = NSDateFormatterShortStyle;
dateFormat.locale = [NSLocale currentLocale];
NSString *dateAsString = [dateFormat stringFromDate:date];

Converting to NSDate from NSString

I am trying to convert a Nsstring object to Nsdate.My code is like this
NSString *Time=#"09/26/2011 2:06 AM";
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
//[NSDateFormatter setDefaultFormatterBehavior:NSDateFormatterBehaviorDefault];
//Time=[mystr substringToIndex:3];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM"];
NSDate *dateFrom = [dateFormatter dateFromString:Time];
NSLog(#"\n\n\n\nThe date==%#\n\n\n\n\n",dateFrom);
But It returns a null value..Any help is Appreciated .Thanks in advance
Try to replace:
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM"];
with
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:#"MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm a"];