{"id":77,"date":"2021-03-08T00:13:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T00:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/?page_id=77"},"modified":"2021-07-15T07:32:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T07:32:54","slug":"php-datetime","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/php-oop\/php-datetime\/","title":{"rendered":"PHP DateTime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to work with the date and time in an object-oriented way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to the PHP DateTime class #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PHP provides a set of date and time classes that allow you to work with the date and time in an object-oriented way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create a new date and time object, you use the DateTime<\/code> class. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n

<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\n\nvar_dump($datetime);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
object(DateTime)#1 (3) {<\/span>\n    [\"date\"<\/span>]=> string(26<\/span>) \"2021-07-15 06:30:40.294788\"<\/span>\n    [\"timezone_type\"<\/span>]=>  int(3<\/span>)\n    [\"timezone\"<\/span>]=>  string(13<\/span>) \"Europe\/Berlin\"<\/span>\n}<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The DateTime<\/code> object represents the current date and time in the timezone specified in the PHP configuration file (php.ini<\/code>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To set a new timezone, you create a new DateTimeZone<\/code> object and pass it to the setTimezone()<\/code> method of the DateTime<\/code> object:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\n\n$timezone = new<\/span> DateTimeZone('America\/Los_Angeles'<\/span>);\n$datetime->setTimezone($timezone);\n\nvar_dump($datetime);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
object(DateTime)#1 (3) {<\/span>\n    [\"date\"<\/span>]=> string(26<\/span>) \"2021-07-14 21:33:27.986925\"<\/span>\n    [\"timezone_type\"<\/span>]=> int(3<\/span>)\n    [\"timezone\"<\/span>]=> string(19<\/span>) \"America\/Los_Angeles\"<\/span>\n}<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To format a DateTime<\/code> object, you use the format()<\/code> method. The format string parameters are the same as those you use for the date()<\/a><\/code> function. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('m\/d\/Y g:i A'<\/span>); <\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
07<\/span>\/15<\/span>\/2021<\/span> 6<\/span>:38<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To set a specific date and time, you can pass a date & time string to the DateTime()<\/code> constructor like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime('12\/31\/2019 12:00 PM'<\/span>);\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('m\/d\/Y g:i A'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Or you can use the setDate()<\/code> function to set a date:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\n$datetime->setDate(2020<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 1<\/span>);\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('m\/d\/Y g:i A'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
05<\/span>\/01<\/span>\/2020<\/span> 6<\/span>:42<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The time is derived from the current time. To set the time, you use the setTime()<\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\n$datetime->setDate(2020<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 1<\/span>);\n$datetime->setTime(5<\/span>, 30<\/span>, 0<\/span>);\n\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('m\/d\/Y g:i A'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
05<\/span>\/01<\/span>\/2020<\/span> 5<\/span>:30<\/span> AM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Since the setDate()<\/code>, setTime()<\/code>, and setTimeZone()<\/code> method returns the DateTime<\/code> object, you can chain them like this which is quite convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime();\necho<\/span> $datetime->setDate(2020<\/span>, 5<\/span>, 1<\/span>)\n    ->setTime(5<\/span>, 30<\/span>)\n    ->setTimezone(new<\/span> DateTimeZone('America\/New_York'<\/span>))\n    ->format('m\/d\/Y g:i A'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
04<\/span>\/30<\/span>\/2020<\/span> 11<\/span>:30<\/span> PM<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Creating a DateTime object from a string #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When you pass the date string ’06\/08\/2021′ to the DateTime()<\/code> constructor or setDate()<\/code> function, PHP interprets it as m\/d\/Y<\/code>. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime('06\/08\/2021'<\/span>);\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('F jS, Y'<\/span>); <\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
June 8<\/span>th, 2021<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If you want to pass it as August 6th, 2021, you need to use the – or . instead of \/. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime('06-08-2021'<\/span>);\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('F jS, Y'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
August 6<\/span>th, 2021<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
However, if you want to parse the date string ’06\/08\/2021′ as d\/m\/Y, you need to replace the \/ with – or . manually:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$ds = '06\/08\/2021'<\/span>;\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime(str_replace('\/'<\/span>, '-'<\/span>, $ds));\n\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('F jS, Y'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
August 6<\/span>th, 2021<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
A better way to do it is to use the createFromFormat()<\/code> static method of the DateTime<\/code> object:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$ds = '06\/08\/2021'<\/span>;\n$datetime = DateTime::createFromFormat('d\/m\/Y'<\/span>, $ds);\n\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('F jS, Y'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In this example, we pass the date format as the first argument and the date string as the second argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note that when you pass a date string without the time, the DateTime()<\/code> constructor uses midnight time. However, the createFromFormat()<\/code> method uses the current time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comparing two DateTime objects #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
PHP allows you to compare two DateTime objects using the comparison operators including >, >=, <, <=, ==, <=>. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime1 = new<\/span> DateTime('01\/01\/2021 10:00 AM'<\/span>);\n$datetime2 = new<\/span> DateTime('01\/01\/2021 09:00 AM'<\/span>);\n\nvar_dump($datetime1 < $datetime2); \/\/ false<\/span>\nvar_dump($datetime1 > $datetime2); \/\/ true<\/span>\nvar_dump($datetime1 == $datetime2); \/\/ false<\/span>\nvar_dump($datetime1 <=> $datetime2); \/\/ 1<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Calculating the differences between two DateTime objects #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The diff()<\/code> method of the DateTime()<\/code> object returns the difference between two DateTime()<\/code> objects as a DateInterval<\/code> object. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$dob = new<\/span> DateTime('01\/01\/1990'<\/span>);\n$to_date = new<\/span> DateTime('07\/15\/2021'<\/span>);\n\n$age = $to_date->diff($dob);\nvar_dump($age);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
object(DateInterval)#3 (16) {<\/span>\n    [\"y\"<\/span>]=>    int(31<\/span>)\n    [\"m\"<\/span>]=>    int(6<\/span>)\n    [\"d\"<\/span>]=>    int(14<\/span>)\n    [\"h\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"i\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"s\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"f\"<\/span>]=>    float(0<\/span>)\n    [\"weekday\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"weekday_behavior\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"first_last_day_of\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"invert\"<\/span>]=>    int(1<\/span>)\n    [\"days\"<\/span>]=>    int(11518<\/span>)\n    [\"special_type\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"special_amount\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"have_weekday_relative\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n    [\"have_special_relative\"<\/span>]=>    int(0<\/span>)\n}<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The DateInterval<\/code> represents the differences between two dates in the year, month, day, hour, etc. To format the difference, you use the DateInterval<\/code>‘s format. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$dob = new<\/span> DateTime('01\/01\/1990'<\/span>);\n$to_date = new<\/span> DateTime('07\/15\/2021'<\/span>);\n\necho<\/span> $to_date->diff($dob)->format('%Y years, %m months, %d days'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
31<\/span> years, 6<\/span> months, 14<\/span> days<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Adding an interval to a DateTime object #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To add an interval to date, you create a new DateInterval<\/code> object and pass it to the add()<\/code> method. The following example adds 1 year 2 months to the date 01\/01\/2021<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?php<\/span>\n\n$datetime = new<\/span> DateTime('01\/01\/2021'<\/span>);\n$datetime->add(new<\/span> DateInterval('P1Y2M'<\/span>));\necho<\/span> $datetime->format('m\/d\/Y'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
03<\/span>\/01<\/span>\/2022<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To subtract an interval from a DateTime<\/code> object, you create a negative interval and use the add()<\/code> method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  • Use the DateTime<\/code> class to work with the date and time.<\/li>
  • Use the DateTimeZone<\/code> class to work with time zones.<\/li>
  • Use the comparison operators to compare two DateTime<\/code> objects.<\/li>
  • Use the diff()<\/code> method to calculate the difference between to DateTime<\/code> objects.<\/li>
  • Use the DateInterval<\/code> class to represent a date and time interval.<\/li>
  • Use the add()<\/code> method to add an interval to or subtract an interval from a DateTime<\/code> object.<\/li><\/ul>\n
    \n\t
    \n\t\t
    Did you find this tutorial useful?<\/div>\n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t Yes <\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/path>\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t No <\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\t
    \n\t\t
    \n\t\t\t
    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
To format a date interval, you use the date interval format strings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out all the DateInterval format parameters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this example, we create a new DateTimeZone<\/code> object and set it to \"America\/Los_Angeles\"<\/code>. To get valid timezones supported by PHP, check out the timezone list<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n