Date and time Class , objects and function in PHP
PHP Date and Time: choose the right API
PHP offers procedural date/time functions plus DateTime and DateTimeImmutable objects. For new code, DateTimeImmutable is often easier to reason about because operations return a new object instead of changing the original.
$now = new DateTimeImmutable('now', new DateTimeZone('Asia/Kolkata'));
echo $now->format('Y-m-d H:i:s T');Use the function/reference links below for formatting, parsing, intervals, time zones and timestamps.
Core date/time tutorials in this hub now use current PHP examples first, with legacy teaching examples retained where they still explain useful behavior.
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | PHP Date & Time object |
| createfromformat() | Change date format |
| checkdate() | Validating date |
| date() | Required date and time in given format |
| date_create() | Creating date objects |
| Date Interval | Creating date interval object using standard format |
| Date Interval format | Formatting date interval output |
| Adding date | Adding date and time to the date object |
| Date difference | Difference in days month etc between two date object |
| Modifying date | Change the date object by adding or subtracting days, months, time etc. |
| Set Date | Changing the date object by adding new date parameters |
| Set Time | Changing time part of the date object |
| setISODate | Set the ISO Date |
| setTimestamp() | Change the date object by using timestamp |
| strtotime() | Text string of data to timestamp |
| TimeZone Get | Getting time zone set at the server |
| TimeZone Set | Setting a new time zone of the server |
| Date Format | Formatting the date output |
| TimeZone List | List of time zones can be used or available |
| date_get_last_error() | Displaying error |
| gettimeofday | Time elapsed between current time and Epoch time |
| gettimestamp() | Getting Timestamp from date object |
| datetimeimmutable() | Date object original not to change |
| gmdate() | Formatted date output showing GMT date and time |
| gmmktime() | Timestamp using GMT date and time as input |
| localtime | Date , time, year etc as an array |
| getdate() | getting part like month name, date , year etc . |
| mktime() | getting time stamp of input date and time |
| Timestamp | Demo of generating timestamp by using date and time as inputs |
DEMO :Select Timezone to get current date and time using different formats
Managing date and time user input by datetime-local
Displaying date and time
How to display current time stamp value in a page? By using time stamp we can display the date and time by formatting the time stamp output. Learn how to set the time zone of the server or at the page level.
Validating date and finding date parts from a date string
We need to check the user entered date value in any web page before using in our script. For this php built in date function checkdate can be used. This function returns true if the date is a valid date. This function also takes care of leap years and other date restrictions.
Previous dates or advance dates from today
How to get date parts to display previous or advance dates by calculating from the present date.
Drop down list box for date month selection
It is easy for a user to select month, date etc from a drop down list box than entering them in a text box. Here the data entered by the user will be under control as from a given options the user has to select one.
2nd and 4th Saturday of the month
Display 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month. For any input month and year display the 2nd and 4th Saturday.
Date Difference
By using mktime function we can get the difference in day or month or year between two dates.
Parse a date value from a formatted string
For a date string with a known format, use createFromFormat() and verify parsing warnings/errors before using the result.
Modern PHP supports DateTime, DateTimeImmutable, DateInterval and DateTimeZone. Prefer explicit timezones and check parsing failures when values come from users or external data.
How to knowPHP version installed in your server ?
How to knowPHP version installed in your server ?
Questions
- How can I display the current date and time using the `date()` function in PHP?
- What is the purpose of the Unix timestamp, and how can I convert it to a readable date and time format in PHP?
- How can I format a specific date and time in PHP using the `date()` function and format characters?
- How can I calculate the difference between two dates or times in PHP using the `DateTime` class?
- How do I add or subtract a specific time interval, such as days, hours, or minutes, to a given date and time in PHP?
- How can I retrieve the day, month, year, hour, minute, or second from a given date and time in PHP?
- How can I compare two dates or times in PHP to determine which one is earlier or later?
- How do I convert a date and time from one time zone to another using the `DateTime` class in PHP?
- How can I parse a date and time string with a specific format into a `DateTime` object in PHP?
- How do I handle daylight saving time adjustments and time zone conversions in PHP when working with dates and times?
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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| mahesh | 15-02-2009 |
| it very helpfull for me. | |
| keshav | 04-03-2009 |
| this is a very good website for all developers and new learners. | |
| gOzaru | 12-05-2009 |
| Thanks for the example of date I need it very much. | |
| Dosmanking Khan | 20-06-2009 |
| Really ,,it is very very helpful website..specialy for beginners..it's tutorial is so nice ,,,easy to understand..eventually it save my career..by providing some codeing demo..ok thank's admin.. | |
| Rajat | 23-06-2009 |
| The date validation part was quite easy to understand.But my problem still lies in the fact that within a date that is to be entered in any format,if after one part(as in date) we use the back-slash(/) separator and after the next part(in between month | |
| pandiyan | 01-08-2009 |
| how to store the system date and time into the mysql database. | |
| sulik | 27-09-2009 |
| ei im sulik from the Philippines, could someone help me? i dont know why my date function produces wrong results? my system time is fine and correct. but when i echo the date function, something like this... date("H:i:s"); it outputted wrong result which is 8 hours late? date function base its time from the server not from the system time right? if it's that's the case then how can i set my server time? im using wamp server by the way. Replies for my long time problem would be much appreciated. tnxs in advance. | |
| smo | 27-09-2009 |
| There is a time adjustment setting to take care of global time zones, that is inside your PHP.ini file. This setting will display the time by reading the server time and then adding the time zone adjustment. You need to change this setting. | |
| sulik | 27-09-2009 |
| tnxs for the reply smo. i tried the php.ini file and set date.timezone = Asia/Manila but nothing happens and produces wrong 8 hours late results. so ive searched the net and found out that there is a code that you can explicitly set the timezone, this is the code.. date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Manila'); and after adding this code the date function outputs correct results... I dont know why it doesn't work on the php.ini file. ive done many php.ini setting in the past and this is the first time that i encounter some problems. Any ideas? | |
| azhar | 11-05-2010 |
| i like php thats y its helpful for me | |
| kunjan | 07-09-2011 |
| this is a very good website for all developers and new learners | |
| Swapnil Menkar | 05-05-2012 |
| i like this website, its so useful to new programmer. | |
