NSDate() vs NSDate.date() in Swift

I´m following along with the [Bloc.io Swiftris tutorial](

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) where they initialize a date by:

lastTick = NSDate.date()

Which causes a compile error:

'date()' is unavailable: use object construction 'NSDate()'

Which should equal:

NSDate *lastTick = [NSDate date];

(from the [NSDate reference](

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))


Did Apple change the [Swift interface to NSDate](

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), since I have seen other examples that use `NSDate.date`?

Is this just NSDate or can you not call type methods for any Objective-C APIs?

It seems that `NSDate()` is new syntax. Previously, `NSDate.date()` worked,

but **now you should use** **`NSDate()`**

`[NSDate date]` is a factory method for constructing an NSDate object.

If you read the guide "Using Swift with Cocoa and Objective-C", there is a section on interacting with Objective-C apis:

> For consistency and simplicity, Objective-C factory methods get mapped as convenience initializers in Swift. This mapping allows them to be used with the same concise, clear syntax as initializers.”
>
>Excerpt From: Apple Inc. “Using Swift with Cocoa and Objective-C.” iBooks.

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So the factory method:

[NSDate date]

is converted into an initializer in Swift

NSDate()

It's not just NSDate where you will find this pattern, but in other Cocoa API's with factory methods.

> Did Apple change the Swift interface to `NSDate`?

Yes, they did. For me, the compiler tells:

> Foundation.NSDate:3:26: note: 'date()' has been explicitly marked unavailable here:
>
> `@objc(date) class func date() -> Self!`

So it is explicitly marked unavailable to Swift. This means that it has officially been deprecated.

In Objective-C, `[NSDate date]` simply calls `[[NSDate alloc] init]`. Hence, you do not need to call `NSDate.date()` in Swift. Simply calling `NSDate()` will initialise a date object with the current date.