The PHP Date() Function

The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and time.

A timestamp is a sequence of characters, denoting the date and/or time at which a certain event occurred.

Syntax

date(format,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 required format parameter in the date() function specifies how to format the date/time.

Here are some characters that can be used:

• d - Represents the day of the month (01 to 31)
• m - Represents a month (01 to 12)
• Y - Represents a year (in four digits)

A list of all the characters that can be used in the format parameter, can be found in our PHP Date reference.

Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the letters to add additional formatting:

<?php
echo date("Y/m/d") . "<br />";
echo date("Y.m.d") . "<br />";
echo date("Y-m-d");
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:

2009/05/11
2009.05.11
2009-05-11

PHP Date() - Adding a Timestamp

The optional timestamp parameter in the date() function specifies a timestamp. If you do not specify a timestamp, the current date and time will be used.

The mktime() function returns the Unix timestamp for a date.

The Unix timestamp contains the number of seconds between the Unix Epoch (January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT) and the time specified.

Syntax for mktime()

mktime(hour,minute,second,month,day,year,is_dst)

To go one day in the future we simply add one to the day argument of mktime():

<?php
$tomorrow = mktime(0,0,0,date("m"),date("d")+1,date("Y"));
echo "Tomorrow is ".date("Y/m/d", $tomorrow);
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:

Tomorrow is 2009/05/12

The $_POST Variable

The predefined $_POST variable is used to collect values from a form sent with method="post".

Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the amount of information to send.

Note: However, there is an 8 Mb max size for the POST method, by default (can be changed by setting the post_max_size in the php.ini file).

Example

<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL will look like this:

http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php

The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_POST variable to collect form data (the names of the form fields will automatically be the keys in the $_POST array):

Welcome <?php echo $_POST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.

When to use method="post"?

Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the amount of information to send.

However, because the variables are not displayed in the URL, it is not possible to bookmark the page.

The PHP $_REQUEST Variable

The predefined $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE.

The $_REQUEST variable can be used to collect form data sent with both the GET and POST methods.

Example

Welcome <?php echo $_REQUEST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_REQUEST["age"]; ?> years old.

The $_GET Variable

The predefined $_GET variable is used to collect values in a form with method="get"

Information sent from a form with the GET method is visible to everyone (it will be displayed in the browser's address bar) and has limits on the amount of information to send.

Example

<form action="welcome.php" method="get">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL sent to the server could look something like this:

http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php?fname=Peter&age=37

The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_GET variable to collect form data (the names of the form fields will automatically be the keys in the $_GET array):

Welcome <?php echo $_GET["fname"]; ?>.<br />
You are <?php echo $_GET["age"]; ?> years old!

When to use method="get"?

When using method="get" in HTML forms, all variable names and values are displayed in the URL.

Note: This method should not be used when sending passwords or other sensitive information!

However, because the variables are displayed in the URL, it is possible to bookmark the page. This can be useful in some cases.

Note: The get method is not suitable for very large variable values. It should not be used with values exceeding 2000 characters.

PHP Form

First Create "Welcome.php" file as follows
==================
<html>
<head>
<title>Welcome</title>
</head>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.
</form>
</body>
</html>

Create "Form.php" as follows
======================
html>
<head>
<title>Form</title>
</head>
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname" /><BR/>
Age: <input type="text" name="age" /><BR/>
<input type="submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>


Output
=====
Welcome SATEESH.BAGADHI!
You are 28 years old.