How to Convert a PHP String to Date

When working with programming languages, it is common to need to convert an item from one data type to another. There is often a need to convert something a user has provided into a usable type---such as converting from a user string into a date. In php, all dates are stored as UNIX timestamps. Fortunately, in php 4 and php 5, there is a pre-defined function that will allow you to convert nearly any string into a UNIX timestamp.

Instructions

1. Obtain the string you want to convert into a date. This can be through a text box on an HTML form or it might be from a database table.

2. Store this string in a string variable using the assignment statement. For example, if using a form, $myDate = $_POST["txtDate"];

3. Define a variable to store the resulting date. Do this using the assignment operator and store a zero in the variable: $resultDate = 0;

4. Use the strtotime function to convert the string and store it in the date variable: $resultDate = strtotime($myDate);

Tips & Warnings

• Use the php date function to display the date in nearly any format.

References

• us2.php.net: php StrToTime function
• us2.php.net: php Date function