PHP — Date and Time

Current date/time

<?php
echo date("Y-m-d");           // 2026-08-23
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s");     // 2026-08-23 14:30:00
echo date("l, F j, Y");       // Saturday, August 23, 2026

// Timestamp
echo time();                   // Unix timestamp
echo microtime();              // With microseconds
?>

Creating dates

<?php
// From string
$date = new DateTime("2026-08-23");
echo $date->format("Y-m-d");

// From timestamp
$date = new DateTime("@1692787200");

// Create specific
$date = new DateTime("2026-12-25 10:30:00");
?>

Date arithmetic

<?php
$date = new DateTime("2026-08-23");

// Add
$date->modify("+1 month");
$date->modify("+7 days");

// Interval
$interval = new DateInterval("P1Y2M3D");
$date->add($interval);

// Difference
$date1 = new DateTime("2026-08-23");
$date2 = new DateTime("2026-12-25");
$diff = $date1->diff($date2);
echo $diff->days; // days between
?>

Timezone

<?php
date_default_timezone_set("America/New_York");
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s");

// Different timezone
$date = new DateTime("now", new DateTimeZone("Europe/London"));
echo $date->format("Y-m-d H:i:s");
?>

Mini Practice

Write PHP code that:

1. Gets current date in various formats
2. Creates a DateTime object
3. Performs date arithmetic
4. Handles timezones

Up Next

In the next lesson, you'll learn about Math Functions — mathematical operations.