Converting nsdates to NSStrings and vice-versa

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Level 1

4 points

Converting nsdates to NSStrings and vice-versa

hi, as part of an app I'm writing(my first) I need to constantly convert NSDates to NSStrings and vice-versa. So I thought I would write the 2 functions but include them as methods with the main controller and call them with something like

[self convertToDate:stringToConvert]

However , I'm experiencing problems and getting warnings all over the place - may be because I'm calling them from within 'proper' methods in the class. The functions themselves are pretty straight forward and I've copied them from forums like this one

I realise this is probably not best practice , but how else would I do it? Would I create a separate .h and .m files.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received. I have posted threads about mixing normal functions and methods on this forum and I am grateful for all your feedback , and this relates to this matter , but I'm starting to wonder if my approach is wrong?

MacBook Air (13-INCH, MID 2011)

Posted on Jun 8, 2013 3:06 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 8, 2013 4:46 AM in response to Mike200

From the class definition for NSDate:

To parse strings containing dates and to generate string representations of a date, you should use an instance of
NSDateFormatter
using the methods
dateFromString

To go from date to string see NSDate's description and descriptionWithLocale: methods

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Answer 2

etresoft

Level 9

56,248 points

Jun 8, 2013 5:03 AM in response to Frank Caggiano

The only recommended way to convert dates, in either direction, is with NSDateFormatter. The date classes have changed a lot over the years. Make sure to use the latest and greatest. The only trick with NSDateFormatter is that it is slow to construct. You want to construct them at startup and store in a singleton.

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Answer 3

Jun 8, 2013 10:07 PM in response to Mike200

As others have said, use NSDateFormatter. You may wish to put the method you are going to make as a category on NSDate so that it is more easily made available throughout your app if you are going to be using it from more than one file.

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