Compare two dates

Question

How can I compare two different dates to find out which is the later date? For example, in date1 I will store one date after downloading some data, and in date2, I will store the current date. Then I need to check which one is greater/later: something like if(date1>date2).

Before posting a question, please check if it hasn’t already been asked on Stack Overflow by using the search box on the top right corner. For example, search for `compare two NSDate`. — , Apr 20 '11 at 09:01

score 25 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 20 '11 at 09:03

25

Something like:

    NSDate* timeNow = [NSDate date];

    // If less than 30 seconds, do something
    if ([timeNow timeIntervalSinceDate:anEarlierTime] < 30.0f)
    {
        // Do something
    }

answered Apr 20 '11 at 09:03

Dave F

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thanx for ur reply,,small clarification ,if time interval is 24 hours(1 day) how can i check that? – Kiran Apr 20 '11 at 09:14
2

Well, 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours would give you 86,400 :-) – Dave F Apr 20 '11 at 10:42

score 25 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 04 '13 at 14:06

25

you can use NSDate's compare: method:

NSComparisonResult result = [Date2 compare:Date1];

if(result==NSOrderedAscending)
    NSLog(@"Date1 is in the future");
else if(result==NSOrderedDescending)
    NSLog(@"Date1 is in the past");
else
    NSLog(@"Both dates are the same");

edited Jul 04 '13 at 14:06

Hemang

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answered Apr 20 '11 at 09:07

PgmFreek

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score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 08 '12 at 18:23

This is what I used for comparing dates with timezones, and worked for me using iOS 6

        NSComparisonResult result = [timeStamp compare:serverDate];
        NSDateFormatter *df = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
        [df setDateFormat:@"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss z"];
        switch (result)
        {
            case NSOrderedAscending:
                NSLog(@"%@ is greater than %@", [df stringFromDate:serverDate], [df stringFromDate:timeStamp]);
                break;
            case NSOrderedDescending:
                NSLog(@"%@ is less %@", [df stringFromDate:serverDate], [df stringFromDate:timeStamp]);
                break;
            case NSOrderedSame:
                NSLog(@"%@ is equal to %@", [df stringFromDate:serverDate], [df stringFromDate:timeStamp]);
                break;
            default:
                NSLog(@"erorr dates %@, %@", [df stringFromDate:serverDate], [df stringFromDate:timeStamp]);
                break;
        }

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Sep 21 '11 at 14:33

NSDateFormatter *df = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[df setDateFormat:@"yyyy-MM-dd"];
NSDate *dt1 = [[NSDate alloc] init];
NSDate *dt2 = [[NSDate alloc] init];
dt1 = [df dateFromString:@"2011-02-25"];
dt2 = [df dateFromString:@"2011-03-25"];
NSComparisonResult result = [dt1 compare:dt2];
switch (result)
{
    case NSOrderedAscending: NSLog(@"%@ is greater than %@", dt2, dt1); break;
    case NSOrderedDescending: NSLog(@"%@ is less %@", dt2, dt1); break;
    case NSOrderedSame: NSLog(@"%@ is equal to %@", dt2, dt1); break;
    default: NSLog(@"erorr dates %@, %@", dt2, dt1); break;
}

Compare two dates

4 Answers4

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