PHP Date and Time
The PHP date() function is used to format a date and/or a time.
The PHP Date() Function
The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and time.
Syntax
date(format,timestamp)
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| format | Required. Specifies the format of the timestamp |
| timestamp | Optional. Specifies a timestamp. Default is the current date and time |
• Get a Date
The required format parameter of the date() function specifies how to format the date (or time).
Here are some characters that are commonly used for dates:
d - Represents the day of the month (01 to 31)
m - Represents a month (01 to 12)
Y - Represents a year (in four digits)
l (lowercase 'L') - Represents the day of the week
Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the characters to add additional formatting.
The example below formats today's date in three different ways:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
echo "Today is " . date("Y/m/d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("Y.m.d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("Y-m-d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("l");
?>
</body>
</html>
Output
Today is 2020/11/03
Today is 2020.11.03
Today is 2020-11-03
Today is Tuesday
• PHP Tip - Automatic Copyright Year
Use the date() function to automatically update the copyright year on your website:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
date_default_timezone_set("America/New_York");
echo "The time is " . date("h:i:sa");
?>
</body>
</html>
Output
The time is 02:21:10am
• Create a Date With mktime()
The PHP mktime() function returns the Unix timestamp for a date. The Unix timestamp contains the number of seconds between the Unix Epoch (January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT) and the time specified.
Syntax
mktime(hour, minute, second, month, day, year)
The example below creates a date and time with the date() function from a number of parameters in the mktime() function:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
$d=mktime(11, 14, 54, 8, 12, 2014);
echo "Created date is " . date("Y-m-d h:i:sa", $d);
?>
</body>
</html>
Output
Created date is 2014-08-12 11:14:54am
• Create a Date From a String With strtotime()
The PHP strtotime() function is used to convert a human readable date string into a Unix timestamp (the number of seconds since January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT).
Syntax
strtotime(time, now)