formats the interval DateInterval for display in PHP

DateInterval::format ( string $format )

Each char must be prefixed by a percent sign (%)

Char	Description	Example
Y	Years , 2 digits Minimum	01, 03
y	Years	2, 13
M	Months, 2 digits minimum	01, 04, 11
m	Months, numeric	1, 5, 12
D	Days, 2 digits minimum	01, 05, 31
d	Days	1, 7, 27
a	Total number of days as output of DateTime::diff() or (unknown) otherwise	10, 17, 6143
H	Hours, 2 digits minimum	02, 05, 23
h	Hours,	1, 5, 22
I	Minutes 2 digits Minimum	01, 05, 48
i	Minutes	1, 7, 59
S	Seconds, 2 digits minimum	01, 08, 56
s	Seconds	1, 6, 47
F	Microseconds, 6 digits minimum with leading 0	006607, 043878, 579321
f	Microseconds	6507, 637738, 578232
R	Sign "-" when negative, "+" when positive	-, +
r	Sign "-" when negative, empty when positive	-,

How a date interval is represented

Example 1

$interval=new DateInterval('P13M36D');

echo $interval->format('%D Days')."<br>";
echo $interval->format('%m Months')."<br>";

Output is here

36 Days
13 Months

Example 2 both Days and Months

$interval=new DateInterval('P13M36D');
echo $interval->format('%D Days & %M Months');

36 Days & 13 Months

Example 3 using diff()

We can use date diff() to get the difference and then use the format to display the difference.

$date1=new DateTime('2019-05-30');
$date2=new DateTime('2013-02-01');
$difference=$date1->diff($date2);
echo $difference->format('%Y Years , %M Months, %D Days : In total %a days');

Output is here

06 Years , 03 Months, 29 Days : In total 2309 days

Example

$interval=new DateInterval('P5Y4M2DT5H3M4S');
echo "%Y Years : ".$interval->format('%Y Years')."<br>";
echo "%y Years : ".$interval->format('%y Years')."<br>";
echo "%M Months : ".$interval->format('%M Months')."<br>";
echo "%m Months : ".$interval->format('%m Months')."<br>";
echo "%D Days : ".$interval->format('%D Days')."<br>";
echo "%d Days : ".$interval->format('%d Days')."<br>";

echo "%H Hours : ".$interval->format('%H Hours')."<br>";
echo "%h Hours : ".$interval->format('%h Hours')."<br>";

echo "%I Minutes : ".$interval->format('%I Minutes')."<br>";
echo "%i MInutes : ".$interval->format('%i Minutes')."<br>";

echo "%S Seconds : ".$interval->format('%S Seconds')."<br>";
echo "%s Seconds : ".$interval->format('%s Seconds')."<br>";

//echo "%F Microseconds : ".$interval->format('%F Microseconds')."<br>";  // PHP 7
//echo "%f Microseconds : ".$interval->format('%f Microseconds')."<br>"; // PHP 7

Output is here

%Y Years : 05 Years
%y Years : 5 Years
%M Months : 04 Months
%m Months : 4 Months
%D Days : 02 Days
%d Days : 2 Days
%H Hours : 05 Hours
%h Hours : 5 Hours
%I Minutes : 03 Minutes
%i Minutes : 3 Minutes
%S Seconds : 04 Seconds
%s Seconds : 4 Seconds
%F Microseconds : 000000 Microseconds
%f Microseconds : 0 Microseconds

Questions

What is the syntax for creating a DateInterval object in PHP?
How can you represent a DateInterval of 5 days, 2 hours, and 30 minutes in PHP?
What are the available format specifiers for the DateInterval constructor?
How can you add a DateInterval to a specific DateTime object in PHP?
How do you format a DateInterval object to display only the days, hours, and minutes?
How can you calculate the total number of hours in a DateInterval object in PHP?
What is the difference between the % sign and the P sign in a DateInterval format specifier?
Can you specify negative values in a DateInterval object? If yes, how?
How can you convert a DateInterval object into a string representation in PHP?
Are there any limitations or restrictions on the values that can be used in a DateInterval object?

PHP Date Functions Date Difference Timestamp in PHP

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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