PHP Date()
The PHP date() function is used to format a time or a date.
The PHP Date() Function
The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and time.
Syntax
| Parameter |
Description |
| format |
Required. Specifies
the format of the timestamp |
| timestamp |
Optional. Specifies a timestamp. Default is the current
date and time (as a timestamp) |
PHP Date - What is a Timestamp?
A timestamp is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 GMT.
This is also known as the Unix Timestamp.
PHP Date - Format the Date
The first parameter in the date() function specifies how to format the
date/time. It uses letters to represent date and time formats. Here are some of
the letters that can be used:
- d - The day of the month (01-31)
- m - The current month, as a number (01-12)
- Y - The current year in four digits
An overview of all the letters that can be used in the format parameter, can
be found in our PHP Date reference.
Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the
letters to add additional formatting:
<?php
echo date("Y/m/d");
echo "<br />";
echo date("Y.m.d");
echo "<br />";
echo date("Y-m-d");
?>
|
The output of the code above could be something like this:
2006/07/11
2006.07.11
2006-07-11
|
PHP Date - Adding a Timestamp
The second parameter in the date() function specifies a timestamp. This
parameter is optional. If you do not supply a timestamp, the
current time will be used.
In our next example we will use the mktime() function to create a timestamp for tomorrow.
The mktime() function returns the Unix timestamp for a specified date.
Syntax
mktime(hour,minute,second,month,day,year,is_dst)
|
To go
one day in the future we simply add one to the day argument of mktime():
<?php
$tomorrow = mktime(0,0,0,date("m"),date("d")+1,date("Y"));
echo "Tomorrow is ".date("Y/m/d", $tomorrow);
?>
|
The output of the code above could be something like this:
PHP Date - Reference
For more information about all the PHP date functions, please visit our
PHP Date Reference.
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