Get items from array by the nearest day - ios

Question

I'm adding items to my Firebase with date in this format:
var date: NSDate?
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
date = NSDate()
}
// ......
#IBAction func save(_ sender: UIBarButtonItem) {
if let realDate = date {
fullDate = "\(String(describing: realDate))"
}
// ......
let wordItem = Word(word: word, translation: translation, date: fullDate, fullDate: trueDate, exOne: exOne, exTwo: exTwo, completed: false, keyRandom: randomString)
let wordItemRef = self.ref?.child("Users").child(uid).child("LearnedWords").child(randomString)
wordItemRef?.setValue(wordItem.toAnyObject())
presentingViewController?.dismiss(animated: true, completion: nil)
}
So, my Firebase for Date looks like this:
Then, I retrieve this data in another ViewController and add it to the array:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// checking if user is in
guard let uid = Auth.auth().currentUser?.uid else {
return
}
// retrieving data from FireBase
ref = Database.database().reference()
databaseHandle = ref?.child("Users").child(uid).child("LearnedWords").observe(.value, with: { (snapshot) in
var newItems: [Word] = []
for item in snapshot.children {
let wordItem = Word(snapshot: item as! DataSnapshot)
newItems.append(wordItem)
}
newItems.sort(by: { $0.date.compare($1.date) == .orderedDescending})
self.words = newItems
self.getAllMessagesSent(snapshot: newItems)
})
}
// retrieve data from Firebase to the View
func getAllMessagesSent(snapshot: [Word]) {
int = snapshot.count - 1
array = snapshot
}
The question:
How is it possible to retrieve the items from array from the nearest day? If today is 16 of August, I should get all items of the nearest day (for example, 8 items from 12 of August, if this date was the last). And should I change the way I'm adding date to Firebase to achieve this?
Edit
I achieved this by comparing the last date in the array with all other dates:
// retrieve data from Firebase to the View
var dateToCompare: String?
var array: [Word] = []
func getAllMessagesSent(snapshot: [Word]) {
int = snapshot.count - 1
array = snapshot
let dateFormatter = DateFormatter()
dateFormatter.dateFormat = "MM/dd/yyyy"
dateFormatter.timeZone = TimeZone(secondsFromGMT: 0)
// get the nearest item's date and convert it to Date
dateToCompare = array[0].fullDate
let formattedDateToCompare = dateFormatter.date(from: dateToCompare!)
// make array of dates
var dateArray = [NSDate]()
var numberOfWordsThisDay = 1
// formatting all dates in the array
for i in 0..<array.count {
let date1 = dateFormatter.date(from: array[i].fullDate)
dateArray.append(date1! as NSDate)
}
// comparing and in case of cussces increase the number
for i in 1..<array.count {
if Calendar.current.compare(formattedDateToCompare!, to: dateArray[i] as Date, toGranularity: .day) == .orderedSame {
numberOfWordsThisDay += 1
}
}
self.numOfWords.placeholder = "From \(numberOfWordsThisDay) to \(array.count)"
}
It works, but it definitely doesn't look like efficient solution, because I loop over two huge arrays. Is it possible to improve my code? Thanks!