PHP Date()

By | September 27, 2022

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

date(format,timestamp)
ParameterDescription
formatRequired. Specifies the format of the timestamp
timestampOptional. 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

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:

Tomorrow is 2006/07/12
Category: PHP

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