PHP DateTime, parsing string date fails

Question

im passing a startDate end an endDate as a get request parameter to a method, here they get parsed like :

$startDate=$request->query->get('start');
$endDate=$request->query->get('end');
$logger->info('startdate is :'.$startDate.', endDate is : '.$endDate.'');

$start=new \DateTime($startDate);
$end=new \DateTime($endDate);

when i log those two parameters, they may be

startdate is: Wed Jan 12 2011 00:00:00 GMT 0100 (CET)

startDate is: Sat Jan 12 2013 00:00:00 GMT 0100 (CET)

so far so good, but if i log the DateTime´s instanciated from the string above it returns

DateTime Object ( [date] => 0100-01-12 00:00:00 [timezone_type] => 2 [timezone] => GMT ) 

DateTime Object ( [date] => 0100-01-15 00:00:00 [timezone_type] => 2 [timezone] => GMT )

you can see, the DateTime does not represent the same Date

can i make a valid DateTime from those Strings ?

Update :

i tryed to use createFromFormat

like

    $startDate=$request->query->get('start');
    $endDate=$request->query->get('end');

    $start=new \DateTime::createFromFormat('D M d Y h:i:s e+O (T)',$startDate);
    $end=new \DateTime::createFromFormat('D M d Y h:i:s e+O (T)',$endDate);

but that causes exception :

FatalErrorException: Parse: syntax error, unexpected 'createFromFormat' (T_STRING), expecting variable (T_VARIABLE) or '$' in

i also tryed :

    $start=new \DateTime(\DateTime::createFromFormat('D M d Y h:i:s e+O (T)',$startDate));
    $end=new \DateTime(\DateTime::createFromFormat('D M d Y h:i:s e+O (T)',$endDate));

But that creates Dates a new Date from right now ( 2014-01-21 12:28:57 )

I just dont get it right.

for any help, thanks in advance!

Just for documentation, always trim your timestamps. I had a space in the end and got errors when using DateTime::createFromFormat(). — Avatar
– Avatar, Commented Sep 13, 2016 at 11:10

Glavić · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-21 12:14:21Z

3

Your input datetime string Wed Jan 12 2011 00:00:00 GMT 0100 (CET) is not valid/standard for use in DateTime() or strtotime(). See date_parse() function to see how your datetime string is being parsed:

print_r( date_parse('Wed Jan 12 2011 00:00:00 GMT 0100 (CET)') );

demo

Use DateTime::createFromFormat() static method to return DateTime object according to the specific format.

demo

edited Jan 21, 2014 at 12:14

answered Jan 21, 2014 at 12:06

Glavić

43.6k13 gold badges79 silver badges108 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

4 Comments

john Smith Over a year ago

thanks a lot, is there a way to manipulate the datestring, so it can be parsed ? unfortunatly i cant change the dateString before passing into that method, or how would the "createFromFormat()" look for my case ? sorry im a complete newbie with date´s

Glavić Over a year ago

@johnSmith: like I said, use DateTime::createFromFormat(). I have also given you a demo...

john Smith Over a year ago

hmn i really dont get it soorry

Glavić Over a year ago

@johnSmith: You can't even copy/paste my demo? Where do you see that I create DateTime object with DateTime object as first parameter? Static method DateTime::createFromFormat() already creates object, if you have valid format or input, otherwise false is returned. Can you see your mistake on this demo?

ToBe · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-21 12:05:54Z

1

The date format you are probably using is RFC2822. As shown on the PHP date() page as this: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 16:01:07 +0200

You switched the month and day parts and PHP was unable to determine the correct parts.

Best practice would be to either use a Unix-Timestamp (seconds after Epoch) or a better format like ISO 8601 (2004-02-12T15:19:21+00:00).

answered Jan 21, 2014 at 12:05

ToBe

2,6791 gold badge20 silver badges31 bronze badges

2 Comments

john Smith Over a year ago

hey, thanks. How can i do this ? I cant change the DateString before it comes into the method. I tryed some stuff with createFromFormat but that doesnt work, you have an idea ?

ToBe Over a year ago

You should change this in your sending application. Can you control the sender? Maybe you give us some more Info on the sender? I would not try to tinker with the date string before parsing it, this will only lead to more problems. Rule of thumb is, if PHP cant parse your date, you shouldnt either.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

PHP DateTime, parsing string date fails

2 Answers 2

4 Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

4 Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related