What PHP Strtotime() Function?
PHP strtotime() function is an in-built PHP function which is used to convert the English textual DateTime into Unix timesmap datetime (number of seconds since January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT).
Important Notes:
- Each parameter of strtotime() by default takes default time zone unless the specific time zone is specified.
- If in case the user specifies the year in 2 digit format than values between 0-69 are mapped to 2000-2069 and values between 70-100 are mapped to 1970-2000.
- Also, users have to be careful with date separator while using this function; for slash (/) separator American (m/d/y) is assumed, for the dash (-) or dot (.) European (d-m-y) format is assumed. Therefore to avoid any confusion, you should use ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) dates or
DateTime::createFromFormat()when possible.
What is Unix Timesmap?
Unix timesmap is the total number of seconds completed since January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT.
Syntax:
strtotime ( string $time, int $now)
Parameters
The strtotime() function takes two parameters as shown above in the syntax.
| Parameter | Type | Description |
| $time (mandatory) | string | specifies the English textual date/time string |
| $now (optional) | integer | specifies the timestamp which is used as a base to calculate relative dates |
Return Value
The strtotime() returns timestamp on success and FALSE on failure.
Note: PHP versions previous to PHP 5.1.0, would return -1 on failure.
PHP strtotime() Example
Note: The output of below programs may vary depending on the date/time the code is compiled
Program 1:
<?php
#PHP program to illustrate the working of strtotime Function
#simple Example
//Variable to hold the returned value of strtotime Function
/*
NOTE : This function returns the UNIX timestamp
*/
$dateTimeNow = strtotime("now");
//Printing the variable value
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateTimeNow;
?>
Output
Current Date Time : 1573022861
Program 2:
PHP program to convert UNIX timestamp into date format
<?php
#PHP program to illustrate the working of strtotime Function
#simple Example (Convert UNIX timestamp into date format)
//Variable to hold the returned value of strtotime Function
$dateTimeNow = strtotime("now");
$dateTimeNowInDateFormat = date("Y-m-d h:i:s", $dateTimeNow);
//Printing the variable value
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateTimeNowInDateFormat;
?>
Output:
Current Date Time : 2019-11-06 07:04:15
Program 3
Convert English Date to UNIX timestamp
<?php
#PHP program to illustrate the working of strtotime Function
#Convert English Date to UNIX timestamp
//Variable to hold the returned value of strtotime Function
$dateType_1 = strtotime("now");
$dateType_2 = strtotime("03 November 2019");
$dateType_3 = strtotime("+12 hours");
$dateType_4 = strtotime("-12 hours");
$dateType_5 = strtotime("+2 weeks");
$dateType_6 = strtotime("-2 weeks");
$dateType_7 = strtotime("+2 weeks 4 days 5 hours 50 seconds");
$dateType_8 = strtotime("next saturday");
$dateType_9 = strtotime("last saturday");
$dateType_10 = strtotime("+1 month");
$dateType_11 = strtotime("-1 month");
//Printing the variable value
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_1;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_2;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_3;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_4;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_5;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_6;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_7;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_8;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_9;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_10;
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".$dateType_11;
?>
Output
Current Date Time : 2019-11-06 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-11-03 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-11-06 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-11-05 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-11-20 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-10-23 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-11-24 01:03:42
Current Date Time : 2019-11-09 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-11-02 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-12-06 08:02:52
Current Date Time : 2019-10-06 08:02:52
Program 4:
PHP program to convert English Date to UNIX timestamp then normal date
<?php
#PHP program to illustrate the working of strtotime Function
#Convert English Date to UNIX timestamp then normal Date
//Variable to hold the returned value of strtotime Function
$dateType_1 = strtotime("now");
$dateType_2 = strtotime("03 November 2019");
$dateType_3 = strtotime("+12 hours");
$dateType_4 = strtotime("-12 hours");
$dateType_5 = strtotime("+2 weeks");
$dateType_6 = strtotime("-2 weeks");
$dateType_7 = strtotime("+2 weeks 4 days 5 hours 50 seconds");
$dateType_8 = strtotime("next saturday");
$dateType_9 = strtotime("last saturday");
$dateType_10 = strtotime("+1 month");
$dateType_11 = strtotime("-1 month");
//Printing the variable value
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_1);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_2);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_3);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_4);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_5);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_6);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_7);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_8);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_9);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_10);
echo "<br>";
echo "Current Date Time : ".date("Y-m-d h:i:s",$dateType_11);
?>
Output
Current Date Time : 2019-11-06 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-11-03 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-11-06 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-11-05 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-11-20 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-10-23 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-11-24 02:06:38
Current Date Time : 2019-11-09 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-11-02 12:00:00
Current Date Time : 2019-12-06 09:05:48
Current Date Time : 2019-10-06 09:05:48