[ios] Converting NSString to NSDate (and back again)

How would I convert an NSString like "01/02/10" (meaning 1st February 2010) into an NSDate? And how could I turn the NSDate back into a string?

Best practice is to build yourself a general class where you put all your general use methods, methods useful in almost all projects and there add the code suggested by @Pavan as:

+ (NSDate *)getDateOutOfString:(NSString *)passedString andDateFormat:(NSString *)dateFormat{

    NSString *dateString = passedString;
    NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    [dateFormatter setDateFormat:dateFormat];
    NSDate *dateFromString = [[NSDate alloc] init];
    dateFromString = [dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString];
    return dateFromString;

}

.. and so on for all other useful methods

By doing so you start building a clean reusable code for you app. Cheers!

If anyone is interested in doing something like this in Swift these days, I have a start on something, although it's not perfect.

func detectDate(dateString: NSString) -> NSDate {

    var error: NSError?
    let detector: NSDataDetector = NSDataDetector.dataDetectorWithTypes(NSTextCheckingType.Date.toRaw(), error: &error)!

    if error == nil {
        var matches = detector.matchesInString(dateString, options: nil, range: NSMakeRange(0, dateString.length))

        let currentLocale = NSLocale.currentLocale()
        for match in matches {
            match.resultType == NSTextCheckingType.Date
            NSLog("Date: \(match.date.description)")
            return match.date
        }
    }
    return NSDate()
}

using "10" for representing a year is not good, because it can be 1910, 1810, etc. You probably should use 4 digits for that.

If you can change the date to something like

yyyymmdd

Then you can use:

// Convert string to date object
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:@"yyyyMMdd"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:dateStr];  

// Convert date object to desired output format
[dateFormat setDateFormat:@"EEEE MMMM d, YYYY"];
dateStr = [dateFormat stringFromDate:date];  
[dateFormat release];

// Convert string to date 

NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:@"yyyyMMdd"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:dateStr];  

// Convert Date to string

[dateFormat setDateFormat:@"EEEE MMMM d, YYYY"];
dateStr = [dateFormat stringFromDate:date];  
[dateFormat release];

You can use extensions for this.

extension NSDate {
    //NSString to NSDate
    convenience
    init(dateString:String) {
        let nsDateFormatter = NSDateFormatter()
        nsDateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"
        // Add the locale if required here
        let dateObj = nsDateFormatter.dateFromString(dateString)
        self.init(timeInterval:0, sinceDate:dateObj!)
    }

    //NSDate to time string
    func getTime() -> String {
        let timeFormatter = NSDateFormatter()
        timeFormatter.dateFormat = "hh:mm"
        //Can also set the default styles for date or time using .timeStyle or .dateStyle
        return timeFormatter.stringFromDate(self)
    }

    //NSDate to date string
    func getDate() -> String {
        let dateFormatter = NSDateFormatter()
        dateFormatter.dateFormat = "dd, MMM"
        return dateFormatter.stringFromDate(self)
    }

    //NSDate to String
    func getString() -> String {
        let dateFormatter = NSDateFormatter()
        dateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"
        return dateFormatter.stringFromDate(self)
    }
}

So while execution actual code will look like follows

    var dateObjFromString = NSDate(dateString: cutDateTime)
    var dateString = dateObjFromString.getDate()
    var timeString = dateObjFromString.getTime()
    var stringFromDate = dateObjFromString.getString()

There are some defaults methods as well but I guess it might not work for the format you have given from documentation

    -dateFromString(_:)
    -stringFromDate(_:)
    -localizedStringFromDate(_ date: NSDate,
                     dateStyle dateStyle: NSDateFormatterStyle,
                     timeStyle timeStyle: NSDateFormatterStyle) -> String

String To Date

var dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.format = "dd/MM/yyyy"

var dateFromString: Date? = dateFormatter.date(from: dateString) //pass string here

Date To String

 var dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
 dateFormatter.dateFormat = "dd-MM-yyyy"
 let newDate = dateFormatter.string(from: date) //pass Date here

NSString to NSDate or NSDate to NSString

//This method is used to get NSDate from string 
//Pass the date formate ex-"dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm a"
+ (NSDate*)getDateFromString:(NSString *)dateString withFormate:(NSString *)formate  {

    // Converted date from date string
    NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    [dateFormatter setLocale:[[NSLocale alloc] initWithLocaleIdentifier:@"en_US"]];
    [dateFormatter setDateFormat:formate];
    NSDate *convertedDate         = [dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString];
    return convertedDate;
}

//This method is used to get the NSString for NSDate
//Pass the date formate ex-"dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm a"
+ (NSString *)getDateStringFromDate:(NSDate *)date withFormate:(NSString *)formate {

    // Converted date from date string
    NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    //[dateFormatter setLocale:[[NSLocale alloc] initWithLocaleIdentifier:@"en_US"]];
    [dateFormatter setDateFormat:formate];
    NSString *convertedDate         = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:date];
    return convertedDate;
}

When using fixed-format dates you need to set the date formatter locale to "en_US_POSIX".

Taken from the Data Formatting Guide

If you're working with fixed-format dates, you should first set the locale of the date formatter to something appropriate for your fixed format. In most cases the best locale to choose is en_US_POSIX, a locale that's specifically designed to yield US English results regardless of both user and system preferences. en_US_POSIX is also invariant in time (if the US, at some point in the future, changes the way it formats dates, en_US will change to reflect the new behavior, but en_US_POSIX will not), and between platforms (en_US_POSIX works the same on iPhone OS as it does on OS X, and as it does on other platforms).

Swift 3 or later

extension Formatter {
    static let customDate: DateFormatter = {
        let formatter = DateFormatter()
        formatter.locale = Locale(identifier: "en_US_POSIX")
        formatter.dateFormat = "dd/MM/yy"
        return formatter
    }()
    static let time: DateFormatter = {
        let formatter = DateFormatter()
        formatter.locale = Locale(identifier: "en_US_POSIX")
        formatter.dateFormat = "HH:mm"
        return formatter
    }()
    static let weekdayName: DateFormatter = {
        let formatter = DateFormatter()
        formatter.dateFormat = "cccc"
        return formatter
    }()
    static let month: DateFormatter = {
        let formatter = DateFormatter()
        formatter.dateFormat = "LLLL"
        return formatter
    }()
}

extension Date {
    var customDate: String {
        return Formatter.customDate.string(from: self)
    }
    var customTime: String {
        return Formatter.time.string(from: self)
    }
    var weekdayName: String {
        return Formatter.weekdayName.string(from: self)
    }
    var monthName: String {
        return Formatter.month.string(from: self)
    }
}

extension String {
    var customDate: Date? {
        return Formatter.customDate.date(from: self)
    }
}

usage:

// this will be displayed like this regardless of the user and system preferences
Date().customTime          //  "16:50"
Date().customDate          //  "06/05/17"
// this will be displayed according to user and system preferences
Date().weekdayName         //  "Saturday"
Date().monthName           //  "May"

Parsing the custom date and converting the date back to the same string format:

let dateString = "01/02/10"

if let date = dateString.customDate {
    print(date.customDate)   // "01/02/10\n"
    print(date.monthName)    // customDate
}

Here it is all elements you can use to customize it as necessary:

Why not add a category to NSString?

// NSString+Date.h
@interface NSString (Date)
+ (NSDate*)stringDateFromString:(NSString*)string;
+ (NSString*)stringDateFromDate:(NSDate*)date;
@end


// NSString+Date.m
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss ZZZ"];

NSDate *date = [dateFormatter dateFromString:stringDate ];
[dateFormatter release];
+ (NSDateFormatter*)stringDateFormatter
{
    static NSDateFormatter* formatter = nil;
    if (formatter == nil)
    {
        formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
        [formatter setDateFormat:@"EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss ZZZ"];
    }   
    return formatter;
}

+ (NSDate*)stringDateFromString:(NSString*)string
{
    return [[NSString stringDateFormatter] dateFromString:string];
}

+ (NSString*)stringDateFromDate:(NSDate*)date
{
    return [[NSString stringDateFormatter] stringFromDate:date];
}


// Usage (#import "NSString+Date.h") or add in "YOUR PROJECT".pch file
NSString* string = [NSString stringDateFromDate:[NSDate date]];
NSDate* date = [NSString stringDateFromString:string];

NSString *mystr=@"Your string date";

NSCalendar *cal = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSDate *now = [dateFormatter dateFromString:mystr];

Nslog(@"%@",now);

If you want set the format use below code:

NSString *dateString = @"01-02-2010";
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];

// this is important - we set our input date format to match our input string
// if format doesn't match you'll get nil from your string, so be careful
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"dd-MM-yyyy"];
NSDate *dateFromString = [[NSDate alloc] init];

// voila!
dateFromString = [dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString];
Nslog(@"%@",[dateFormatter dateFromString:dateString]);

Date to NSString

NSString *dateString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@",[NSDate date]];
NSLog(@"string: %@",dateString ); //2015-03-24 12:28:49 +0000

NSString to NSDate

NSDateFormatter *formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[formatter setDateFormat:@"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss Z"];
NSDate *date = [formatter dateFromString:dateString];
NSLog(@"date: %@", date); //015-03-24 12:28:49 +0000

As per Swift 2.2

You can get easily NSDate from String and String from NSDate. e.g.

First set date formatter

let formatter = NSDateFormatter();
formatter.dateStyle = NSDateFormatterStyle.MediumStyle
formatter.timeStyle = .NoStyle
formatter.dateFormat = "MM/dd/yyyy"

Now get date from string and vice versa.

let strDate = formatter.stringFromDate(NSDate())
print(strDate)
let dateFromStr = formatter.dateFromString(strDate)
print(dateFromStr)

Now enjoy.

NSString *dateStr = @"Tue, 25 May 2010 12:53:58 +0000";

// Convert string to date object
NSDateFormatter *dateFormat = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormat setDateFormat:@"EE, d LLLL yyyy HH:mm:ss Z"];
NSDate *date = [dateFormat dateFromString:dateStr]; 
[dateFormat release];

Use this method to convert from NSString to NSdate:

-(NSDate *)getDateFromString:(NSString *)pstrDate
{
    NSDateFormatter* myFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    [myFormatter setDateFormat:@"dd/MM/yyyy"];
    NSDate* myDate = [myFormatter dateFromString:pstrDate];
    return myDate;
}

UPDATE 2019 (Swift 4):

Made a Date extension for that. It uses NSDataDetector instead of NSDateFormatter.

// Just throw at it without any format.
var date: Date? = Date.FromString("02-14-2019 17:05:05")

Pretty enjoyable, it even recognizes things like "Tomorrow at 5".

XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019-02-14"),                    Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019.02.14"),                    Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019/02/14"),                    Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019 Feb 14"),                   Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019 Feb 14th"),                 Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("20190214"),                      Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02-14-2019"),                    Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02.14.2019 5:00 PM"),            Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02/14/2019 17:00"),              Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("14 February 2019 at 5 hour"),    Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02-14-2019 17:05:05"),           Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17, 05, 05))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("17:05, 14 February 2019 (UTC)"), Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17, 05))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02-14-2019 17:05:05 GMT"),       Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17, 05, 05))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("02-13-2019 Tomorrow"),           Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14))
XCTAssertEqual(Date.FromString("2019 Feb 14th Tomorrow at 5"),   Date.FromCalendar(2019, 2, 14, 17))

Goes like:

extension Date
{


    public static func FromString(_ dateString: String) -> Date?
    {
        // Date detector.
        let detector = try! NSDataDetector(types: NSTextCheckingResult.CheckingType.date.rawValue)

        // Enumerate matches.
        var matchedDate: Date?
        var matchedTimeZone: TimeZone?
        detector.enumerateMatches(
            in: dateString,
            options: [],
            range: NSRange(location: 0, length: dateString.utf16.count),
            using:
            {
                (eachResult, _, _) in

                // Lookup matches.
                matchedDate = eachResult?.date
                matchedTimeZone = eachResult?.timeZone

                // Convert to GMT (!) if no timezone detected.
                if matchedTimeZone == nil, let detectedDate = matchedDate
                { matchedDate = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .second, value: TimeZone.current.secondsFromGMT(), to: detectedDate)! }
        })

        // Result.
        return matchedDate
    }
}

UPDATE 2014:

Made an NSString extension for that.

// Simple as this.   
date = dateString.dateValue;

Thanks to NSDataDetector, it recognizes a whole lot of format.

'2014-01-16' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'2014.01.16' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'2014/01/16' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'2014 Jan 16' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'2014 Jan 16th' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'20140116' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'01-16-2014' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'01.16.2014' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'01/16/2014' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'16 January 2014' dateValue is <2014-01-16 11:00:00 +0000>
'01-16-2014 17:05:05' dateValue is <2014-01-16 16:05:05 +0000>
'01-16-2014 T 17:05:05 UTC' dateValue is <2014-01-16 17:05:05 +0000>
'17:05, 1 January 2014 (UTC)' dateValue is <2014-01-01 16:05:00 +0000>

Part of eppz!kit, grab the category NSString+EPPZKit.h from GitHub.

ORIGINAL ANSWER 2013:

Whether you're not sure (or don't care) about the date format contained in the string, use NSDataDetector for parsing date.

//Role players.
NSString *dateString = @"Wed, 03 Jul 2013 02:16:02 -0700";
__block NSDate *detectedDate;

//Detect.
NSDataDetector *detector = [NSDataDetector dataDetectorWithTypes:NSTextCheckingAllTypes error:nil];
[detector enumerateMatchesInString:dateString
                           options:kNilOptions
                             range:NSMakeRange(0, [dateString length])
                        usingBlock:^(NSTextCheckingResult *result, NSMatchingFlags flags, BOOL *stop)
{ detectedDate = result.date; }];

The above examples aren't simply written for Swift 3.0+

Update - Swift 3.0+ - Convert Date To String

let date = Date() // insert your date data here
var dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd" // add custom format if you'd like 
var dateString = dateFormatter.string(from: date)