How to convert timestamp to date and time format in PHP

In PHP, timestamp is a very common variable type because it represents a specific date and time. However, while the numerical value of a timestamp is easy to understand, converting it into a readable date and time format requires the use of time functions. In this article, we will explain how to convert timestamp to date and time format in PHP.

What is a timestamp?

A timestamp refers to the number of seconds since 0:00:00 on January 1, 1970. This value is widely used in Unix or Unix-like operating systems to identify a specific date and time. In computer programs, we usually use timestamps to represent the length of a period of time because they are easy to compare and calculate.

How to convert timestamp to date and time format?

PHP provides many functions to convert timestamp to date and time format, the most commonly used function is date(). This function accepts two parameters: a string specifying the date and time format, and an integer value specifying the timestamp. Here is a simple example of how to use the date() function to convert a timestamp into a readable date and time format:

$timestamp = time(); // 获取当前时间戳
$date = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $timestamp); // 将时间戳转化为日期和时间格式
echo $date; // 输出结果为：2021-06-01 12:34:56

In this example, we use the time() function to get the current timestamp, Then pass it to the date() function. In the date() function, we use a string containing the date and time format, such as 'Y-m-d H:i:s', where Y represents the four-digit year, m represents the two-digit month, and d represents the two-digit day, H represents two digits of hours, i represents two digits of minutes, and s represents two digits of seconds. This string is used to specify the conversion of the timestamp into a readable date and time format.

In addition to using the date() function, you can also use the strftime() function. This function accepts a timestamp and a format string as parameters and returns a formatted date and time string. Unlike the date() function, the strftime() function can return the corresponding date and time format according to the current region and language settings. The following is an example of using the strftime() function:

setlocale(LC_TIME, 'zh_CN.utf8'); // 设置当前语言环境为中文
$timestamp = time(); // 获取当前时间戳
$date = strftime('%Y年%m月%d日 %H:%M:%S', $timestamp); // 将时间戳转化为日期和时间格式
echo $date; // 输出结果为：2021年06月01日 12:34:56

In this example, we first use the setlocale() function to set the current locale to Chinese, so that the strftime() function will return the date and date in Chinese format Time string. We then use the strftime() function to convert the timestamp into a readable date and time format.

Summary

In PHP, timestamp is an important variable type, which represents a specific date and time. However, to make timestamps easier to understand and use, we often need to convert them into a readable date and time format. In this article, we showed you how to use the date() function and strftime() function to convert a timestamp into a readable date and time format. Now that you have learned the basic skills of converting timestamps into date and time formats, you can more easily handle dates and times in PHP.

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