How to Display Different Date Formats with the PHP date() Function? A Detailed Tutorial Guide!

gitbox 2025-08-26

<span><span><span class="hljs-meta"><?php</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// This is some unrelated code example</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-function"><span class="hljs-keyword">function</span></span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title">example</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-params"></span></span><span>) {
    </span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">return</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"This part of the code is not related to the article content"</span></span><span>;
}
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">example</span></span><span>();
</span><span><span class="hljs-meta">?></span></span><span>
<p><hr></p>
<p><h1>How to Display Different Date Formats with the PHP </span>date() Function? A Detailed Tutorial Guide!</h1></p>
<p><p>In PHP, the <code>date<span>()

- $format specifies the date and time format
- $timestamp is an optional parameter, defaulting to the current time

For example, to get the current date:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Y-m-d"</span></span><span>);
?&gt;

Output will look like: 2025-07-21

2. Commonly Used Date Format Characters

Y - Four-digit year, e.g., 2025
y - Two-digit year, e.g., 25
m - Two-digit month (01-12)
n - Month without leading zero (1-12)
d - Two-digit day of the month (01-31)
j - Day of the month without leading zero (1-31)
H - Hour in 24-hour format (00-23)
h - Hour in 12-hour format (01-12)
i - Minutes (00-59)
s - Seconds (00-59)
a - Lowercase am or pm
A - Uppercase AM or PM
l (lowercase L) - Full weekday name, e.g., Monday
D - Abbreviated weekday name, e.g., Mon

3. Combination Examples

Display full current date and time:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Y-m-d H:i:s"</span></span><span>); </span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// 2025-07-21 14:35:08</span></span><span>
?&gt;

Display weekday and month:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"l, F j, Y"</span></span><span>); </span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// Monday, July 21, 2025</span></span><span>
?&gt;

12-hour format with AM/PM:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"h:i:s A"</span></span><span>); </span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// 02:35:08 PM</span></span><span>
?&gt;

4. Formatting with Timestamps

If you have a timestamp, you can pass it as the second parameter:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-variable">$timestamp</span></span><span> = </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">strtotime</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"2024-12-31 23:59:59"</span></span><span>);
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Y-m-d H:i:s"</span></span><span>, </span><span><span class="hljs-variable">$timestamp</span></span><span>); </span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// 2024-12-31 23:59:59</span></span><span>
?&gt;

5. Tips

If you want to display “2025年07月21日”, you can write: date("Y年m月d日")
To display weekdays in Chinese, you can use an array:

&lt;?php
</span><span><span class="hljs-variable">$weekMap</span></span><span> = [</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Sun"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Mon"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Tue"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Wed"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Thu"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Fri"</span></span><span>,</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Sat"</span></span><span>];
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Weekday: "</span></span><span> . </span><span><span class="hljs-variable">$weekMap</span></span><span>[</span><span><span class="hljs-title function_ invoke__">date</span></span><span>(</span><span><span class="hljs-string">"w"</span></span><span>)]; </span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// Weekday: Mon</span></span><span>
?&gt;

Conclusion

The PHP date() function is highly flexible. By combining different format characters, you can meet various date and time display needs. Mastering these format specifiers will make your date outputs more professional and tailored to your requirements.

Give it a try now!

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