Iphone stopwatch - start, stop and start but doesn't start off with where it left off

Question

I are trying to make to a stopwatch app and facing problems getting it to work properly. When I start the stopwatch and stop and start off again, it doesn't continue from where it left off. It carries on running as if it didn't stop. Need some guidance on getting it work properly. I have been trying since morning, the rest of the functions i have made as similar to the apple's stopwatch, only this is bugging me.. Appreciate any help...

The code looks like this:

ViewController.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface ViewController : UIViewController<UITableViewDataSource,UITableViewDelegate>{
    UILabel *lbl;
    NSTimer *stopTimer;
    NSDate *startDate,*currentDate;
    BOOL running;
    UIButton *bttn;
    NSMutableArray *tableItems;
    NSString *timeString,*currentString;
    UITableView *tableview;
    int counter;
}

@property (strong,nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *lbl;
@property (strong,nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *bttn;
@property (strong,nonatomic) NSMutableArray *tableItems;
@property (strong,nonatomic) NSString *timeString;
@property (strong,nonatomic) IBOutlet UITableView *tableview;

-(IBAction)startPressed:(id)sender;
-(IBAction)resetPressed:(id)sender;

-(void)updateTimer;

@end

ViewController.m

#import "ViewController.h"

@interface ViewController ()

@end

@implementation ViewController
@synthesize lbl,bttn,tableItems,timeString,tableview;

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    lbl.text = @"00.00.00.0";
    running = FALSE;
    //difference = @"0";
    startDate = [NSDate date];
    tableItems = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
}

- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
    [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
-(IBAction)startPressed:(id)sender{
    if(!running){
        running = TRUE;
        [sender setTitle:@"Stop" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
        [bttn setTitle:@"Lap" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
        if (stopTimer == nil) {
            stopTimer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:1.0/10.0
                                                         target:self
                                                       selector:@selector(updateTimer)
                                                       userInfo:nil
                                                        repeats:YES];
        }
    }else{
        running = FALSE;
        //startDate = currentDate;
        //difference = currentString;
        [sender setTitle:@"Start" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
        [bttn setTitle:@"Restart" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
        [stopTimer invalidate];
        stopTimer = nil;
    }

}
-(void)updateTimer{
    currentDate = [NSDate date];
    NSTimeInterval timeInterval = [currentDate timeIntervalSinceDate:startDate];
    NSDate *timerDate = [NSDate dateWithTimeIntervalSince1970:timeInterval];
    NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    [dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"HH:mm:ss.S"];
    [dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneForSecondsFromGMT:0.0]];
    timeString=[dateFormatter stringFromDate:timerDate];
    lbl.text = timeString;
}

-(IBAction)resetPressed:(id)sender{
    if (!running) {
        [stopTimer invalidate];
        stopTimer = nil;
        tableItems = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
        startDate = [NSDate date];
        lbl.text = @"00.00.00.0";
        running = FALSE;
    }
    else{
        [tableItems insertObject:timeString atIndex:0];
        [tableview reloadData];
    }

}
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section{
    return tableItems.count;
}
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath{

    //Step 1:Check whether if we can reuse a cell
    UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:@"cell"];

    //Step2: If there are no new cells to reuse,create a new one
    if(cell ==  nil)
    {
        cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:(UITableViewCellStyleDefault) reuseIdentifier:@"cell"];        
    }

    //Step 3: Set the cell text content
    cell.textLabel.text = [tableItems objectAtIndex:indexPath.row];

    //Step 4: Return the row
    return cell;

}



@end

Answer 1

Quoting some code inside my active project.

NSDate *timeStart = [NSDate dateWithTimeIntervalSince1970:0];
NSDate *timeEnd = [timeStart dateByAddingTimeInterval:_timePassed];

NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"00:00:00"];
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneWithName:@"GMT"]];
NSString *strDate = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:timeEnd];

_timeLabel.text = strDate;

This is how I did mine. If you want to use UILabel as a stopwatch, MZTimerLabel is a awesome two line solution for you. Take a look.

Cheers.

Answer 2

In your updateTimer method you calculate the time difference between startDate and the current date. You don't take into account that you would have to subtract the time that passed while the stopwatch was stopped.

Edit:

I'd suggest to sum up and save all timeIntervals that pass between start and stop

Add a property NSTimeInterval timePassed to your class and modify your code like this:

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    //...
    timePassed = 0;
}

-(IBAction)startPressed:(id)sender{
    if(!running){
        //...   
        startDate = [NSDate date];
        //...
    }else{
        NSDate *currentDate = [NSDate date];
        NSTimeInterval intervalToAdd = [currentDate timeIntervalSinceDate:startDate];
        timePassed += intervalToAdd;
    //...
}

-(void)updateTimer{
    currentDate = [NSDate date];
    NSTimeInterval timeInterval = [currentDate timeIntervalSinceDate:startDate];

    timeInterval += timePassed; // <<<<<

    NSDate *timerDate = [NSDate dateWithTimeIntervalSince1970:timeInterval];
    NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
    [dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"HH:mm:ss.S"];
    [dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone timeZoneForSecondsFromGMT:0.0]];
    timeString=[dateFormatter stringFromDate:timerDate];
    lbl.text = timeString;
}

-(IBAction)resetPressed:(id)sender{
    if (!running) {
        //...
        timePassed = 0;
        //...
    }
    //...
}