How to use date in PHP
PHP offers a built-in date() function that enables developers to format a date and time. This function can return the current date and time, as well as format a specified date and time. It takes a string format, which specifies how the output date should be displayed.
Syntax
date(format, timestamp)
The date function takes two parameters:
- Format: A required parameter that specifies the format of a date and time string. It can include letters, spaces, and special characters to represent different date and time elements.
- Timestamp: An optional parameter that specifies a Unix timestamp representing a date and time.
Parameter Values
The following table lists the most commonly used format characters that can be used in the date function. Additional format characters can be found here.
| Format Character | Description |
|---|---|
| d | Day of the month, 2 digits with leading zeros (01-31) |
| F | Month name, full (January-December) |
| Y | Year, 4 digits |
| h | Hour in 12-hour format, 2 digits with leading zeros (01-12) |
| i | Minute, 2 digits with leading zeros (00-59) |
| s | Second, 2 digits with leading zeros (00-59) |
Usage Examples
Here are a few examples of how the date function can be used:
// Returns the current date in the format of Y-m-d
$date = date('Y-m-d');
echo $date; // Outputs something like 2022-04-12
// Returns the current date & time in the format of F d, Y h:i:s A
$datetime = date('F d, Y h:i:s A');
echo $datetime; // Outputs something like April 12, 2022 02:05:24 PM
// Returns a specified datetime in the format of h:i:s A
$timestamp = strtotime('2022-04-12 13:45:00');
$time = date('h:i:s A', $timestamp);
echo $time; // Outputs 01:45:00 PM
Technical Details
- The default timezone will be the same as the server’s timezone, unless specified using the date_default_timezone_set() function.
- The timestamp parameter can be left empty, in which case the current date and time will be used.
- The maximum possible timestamp is of the year 2038 on 32-bit systems.
Written by: Michael from Beginnrtuts.com 23-05-2023 Written in: PHP tutorials