PHP gettimeofday() Function: Usage, Parameters, Return Values, and Example

The gettimeofday() function in PHP provides access to the system's gettimeofday(2) call, returning either an associative array with time components or a float when the optional $return_float parameter is set to true.

When called without arguments, it returns an array containing the keys "sec" (seconds since the Unix epoch), "usec" (microseconds), "minuteswest" (minutes west of Greenwich), and "dsttime" (daylight‑saving time type).

If $return_float is true, the function returns a single floating‑point number representing the current Unix timestamp with microsecond precision.

Example usage:

<?php
print_r(gettimeofday());
echo gettimeofday(true);
?>

Typical output of the array form looks like:

Array (
    [sec] => 1073504408
    [usec] => 238215
    [minuteswest] => 0
    [dsttime] => 1
)
1073504408.23910