PHP program to change date format

In PHP, you can change date formats using several built-in functions like date(), strtotime(), and date_create(). These functions allow you to convert dates between different formats and perform date calculations.

Using date() and strtotime()

The strtotime() function converts a date string to a timestamp, which can then be formatted using date() ?

<?php
    $date = "2019-11-11 05:25 PM";
    echo "Displaying date...<br>";
    echo "Date = $date";
    echo "\nDisplaying updated date...<br>";
    echo date('Y-m-d H:i', strtotime($date. ' + 20 days'));
?>
Displaying date...
Date = 2019-11-11 05:25 PM
Displaying updated date...
2019-12-01 17:25

Using date_create() and date_format()

The date_create() function creates a DateTime object, which can be formatted using date_format() ?

<?php
    $date = date_create("2019-11-11");
    echo "Displaying date...<br>";
    echo date_format($date, "Y/m/d H:i:s");
?>
Displaying date...
2019/11/11 00:00:00

Common Format Patterns

Format Character Description Example
Y 4-digit year 2019
m Month (01-12) 11
d Day (01-31) 11
H Hour (00-23) 17
i Minutes (00-59) 25

Conclusion

PHP offers flexible date formatting through date() with strtotime() for simple conversions and date_create() with date_format() for object-oriented approaches. Both methods support extensive format patterns for customizing date output.

Updated on: 2026-03-15T08:20:44+05:30

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