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* * * The PHP date() function is used to format a time/date. * * * ## PHP date() Function The PHP date() function formats a timestamp into a more readable date and time.  A timestamp is a sequence of characters denoting the date and/or time at which a certain event occurs. ### Syntax string date ( string $format [, int $timestamp ] ) | Parameter | Description | | --- | --- | | format | Required. Specifies the format of the timestamp. | | timestamp | Optional. Specifies a timestamp. Default is the current date and time. | * * * ## PHP Date() - Format the Date The first required parameter of the date() function, *format*, specifies how to format the date/time. Here are some of the characters that can be used: * d - Represents the day of the month (01-31) * m - Represents a month (01-12) * Y - Represents a year (in four digits) For a complete list of all the characters that can be used in the *format* parameter, please check our PHP Date reference: [date() function](#). Other characters, like "/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the letters to add additional formatting: <?php echo date("Y/m/d") . "
"; echo date("Y.m.d") . "
"; echo date("Y-m-d");?> The output of the code above could be something like this: 2016/10/212016.10.212016-10-21 **The format string recognizes the following `format` parameter strings.** | `format` Character | Description | Example returned values | | --- | --- | --- | | *Day* | --- | --- | | *d* | Day of the month, 2 digits with leading zeros | *01* to *31* | | *D* | A textual representation of a day, three letters | *Mon* to *Sun* | | *j* | Day of the month without leading zeros | *1* to *31* | | *l* (lowercase 'L') | A full textual representation of the day of the week | *Sunday* to *Saturday* | | *N* | ISO-8601 numeric representation of the day of the week (added in PHP 5.1.0) | *1* (for Monday) to *7* (for Sunday) | | *S* | English ordinal suffix for the day of the month, 2 characters | *st*, *nd*, *rd* or *th*. Works well with *j* | | *w* | Numeric representation of the day of the week | *0* (for Sunday) to *6* (for Saturday) | | *z* | The day of the year (starting from 0) | *0* to *365* | | *Week* | --- | --- | | *W* | ISO-8601 week number of year, weeks starting on Monday (added in PHP 4.1.0) | Example: *42* (the 42nd week in the year) | | *Month* | --- | --- | | *F* | A full textual representation of a month, such as January or March | *January* to *December* | | *m* | Numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros | *01* to *12* | | *M* | A short textual representation of a month, three letters | *Jan* to *Dec* | | *n* | Numeric representation of a month, without leading zeros | *1* to *12* | | *t* | Number of days in the given month | *28* to *31* | | *Year* | --- | --- | | *L* | Whether it's a leap year | *1* if it is a leap year, *0* otherwise. | | *o* | ISO-8601 week-numbering year. This has the same value as *Y*, except that if the ISO week number (*W*) belongs to the previous or next year, that year is used instead. (added in PHP 5.1.0) | Examples: *1999* or *2003* | | *Y* | A full numeric representation of a year, 4 digits | Examples: *1999* or *2003* | | *y* | A two digit representation of a year | Examples: *99* or *03* | | *Time* | --- | --- | | *a* | Lowercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem | *am* or *pm* | | *A* | Uppercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem | *AM* or *PM* | | *B* | Swatch Internet time | *000* to *999* | | *g* | 12-hour format of an hour without leading zeros | *1* to *12* | | *G* | 24-hour format of an hour without leading zeros | *0* to *23* | | *h* | 12-hour format of an hour with leading zeros | *01* to *12* | | *H* | 24-hour format of an hour with leading zeros | *00* to *23* | | *i* | Minutes with leading zeros | *00* to *59* | | *s* | Seconds, with leading zeros | *00* to *59* | | *u* | Microseconds (added in PHP 5.2.2). Note that **date()** will always generate *000000* because it takes an integer parameter, whereas DateTime::format() does support microseconds. | Example: *654321* | | *Timezone* | --- | --- | | *e* | Timezone identifier (added in PHP 5.1.0) | Examples: *UTC*, *GMT*, *Atlantic/Azores* | | *I* (capital i) | Whether or not the date is in daylights savings time | *1* if Daylight Savings Time, *0* otherwise. | | *O* | Difference to Greenwich time (GMT) in hours | Example: *+0200* | | *P* | Difference to Greenwich time (GMT) with colon between hours and minutes (added in PHP 5.1.3) | Example: *+02:00* | | *T* | Timezone abbreviation | Examples: *EST*, *MDT*... | | *Z* | Timezone offset in seconds. The offset for timezones west of UTC is always negative, and for those east of UTC is always positive. | *-43200* to *43200* | | *Full Date/Time* | --- | --- | | *c* | ISO 8601 date (added in PHP 5) | 2004-02-12T15:19:21+00:00 | | *r* | RFC 822 formatted date | Example: *Thu, 21 Dec 2000 16:01:07 +0200* | | *U* | Seconds since the Unix Epoch (January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT) | See also time() | ## Complete PHP Date Reference For a complete reference of all date functions, visit our (#). The reference contains a brief description and examples of use for each function!