NSDate coming null in iOS

Question

I have to get a date from a string. So I am using the below code:

NSDateFormatter *formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];

//Fri Mar 09 15:31:35 CST 2012
[formatter setDateFormat:@"EEE MMM d HH:mm:ss ZZZ yyyy"];
NSDate *date = [formatter dateFromString:[newDict objectForKey:@"eventDate"]];
NSLog(@"aDate is %@",[newDict objectForKey:@"eventDate"]);

eventDate is coming in the format aDate is Fri May 18 12:00:37 IST 2012 but date is coming null.

I know it is a small issue but I am really stuck up with it.

I don't know the answer, but the problem appears to be with the timezone portion of the date. ZZZ expects to be given something like "Fri May 18 12:00:37 -800 2012". — Phillip Mills, Jun 22 '12 at 14:33
@PhillipMills Good eye, `ZZZ` specifies `RFC 822`. Lowercase `zzz` is in order for this format I believe. — joverboard, Jun 22 '12 at 14:51
Apparently `zzz` depends on something called a "commonlyUsed flag", which I understand not at all. :-) — Phillip Mills, Jun 22 '12 at 15:05
http://stackoverflow.com/a/9086117/571506 Let us all be enlightened! — joverboard, Jun 22 '12 at 15:15
@PhillipMills I tried converting timezone portion by replacing the timezone with the GMT time and it is working fine.Thanks — dead_soldier, Jun 23 '12 at 05:59

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 22 '12 at 15:00

2

Your input string can be parsed with a format of @"EEE MMM d HH:mm:ss VVV yyyy".

answered Jun 22 '12 at 15:00

Phillip Mills

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score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 22 '12 at 14:25

-1

Try adding this before the dateFromString: call:

[formatter setLocale:[[NSLocale alloc] initWithLocaleIdentifier:@"en_IN"]];

answered Jun 22 '12 at 14:25

joverboard

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This code will leak if you are not using ARC, however you can add an `autorelease` in there if you are still working with manual memory management. – joverboard Jun 22 '12 at 14:29

NSDate coming null in iOS

2 Answers2