Master PHP Date Formatting: Convert Timestamps to Custom Strings

The date() function in PHP returns a formatted string based on a given format pattern and an optional integer timestamp. If the timestamp is omitted, the current local time is used (equivalent to time()).

Parameters

Two arguments are accepted: string $format – the format string that defines the output. int $timestamp (optional) – the Unix timestamp to format; defaults to the current time.

Return Value

Returns the formatted date string on success. If an invalid timezone_identifier is supplied, the function returns FALSE.

Examples

Set a default timezone (available since PHP 5.1):

<?php
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
?>

Basic formatting:

<?php
echo date('l'); // e.g., Monday
?>

Full date and time:

<?php
echo date('l dS \of F Y h:i:s A'); // e.g., Monday 15th of August 2005 03:12:46 PM
?>

Formatting a specific timestamp using mktime:

<?php
echo "July 1, 2000 is on a " . date('l', mktime(0,0,0,7,1,2000)); // e.g., Saturday
?>

Using predefined constants for RFC 2822 and ATOM formats:

<?php
echo date(DATE_RFC2822); // e.g., Wed, 25 Sep 2013 15:28:57 -0700

echo date(DATE_ATOM, mktime(0,0,0,7,1,2000)); // e.g., 2000-07-01T00:00:00+00:00
?>