I have the following date: (Tue 7:00AM EST).
Now in order to change its format to 2014-01-21 7:00, I made use of DateTime:createFromFormat() and DateTime::format(). However, it does not seem to find the pattern in the string mentioned above.
Here's the code:
<?php
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat('(D g:iA T)', '(Tue 7:00AM EST)');
if($date !== false) {
var_dump($date->format('Y-m-d H:i'));
} else {
echo 'Invalid date!';
}
?>
Prints: Invalid Date!
Trim out the brackets:
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat('D g:iA T', trim('(Tue 7:00AM EST)', '()'));
print_r(DateTime::getLastErrors(),1); gave me:
Array ( [warning_count] => 0 [warnings] => Array ( )
[error_count] => 1 [errors] => Array ( [16] => Data missing ))
which means at index 16 of the string '(Tue 7:00AM EST)' there is data missing (at the last bracket).
echo print_r(DateTimeZone::listIdentifiers()); lists the following timezones
Array ( [0] => Africa/Abidjan [1] => Africa/Accra [2] => Africa/Addis_Ababa [3] => Africa/Algiers [4] => Africa/Asmara [5] => Africa/Bamako [6] => Africa/Bangui [7] => Africa/Banjul [8] => Africa/Bissau [9] => Africa/Blantyre [10] => Africa/Brazzaville [11] => Africa/Bujumbura [12] => Africa/Cairo [13] => Africa/Casablanca [14] => Africa/Ceuta [15] => Africa/Conakry [16] => Africa/Dakar [17] => Africa/Dar_es_Salaam [18] => Africa/Djibouti [19] => Africa/Douala [20] => Africa/El_Aaiun [21] => Africa/Freetown [22] => Africa/Gaborone [23] => Africa/Harare [24] => Africa/Johannesburg [25] => Africa/Juba [26] => Africa/Kampala [27] => Africa/Khartoum [28] => Africa/Kigali [29] => Africa/Kinshasa [30] => Africa/Lagos [31] => Africa/Libreville [32] => Africa/Lome [33] => Africa/Luanda [34] => Africa/Lubumbashi [35] => Africa/Lusaka [36] => Africa/Malabo [37] => Africa/Maputo [38] => Africa/Maseru [39] => Africa/Mbabane [40] => Africa/Mogadishu [41] => Africa/Monrovia [42] => Africa/Nairobi [43] => Africa/Ndjamena [44] => Africa/Niamey [45] => Africa/Nouakchott [46] => Africa/Ouagadougou [47] => Africa/Porto-Novo [48] => Africa/Sao_Tome [49] => Africa/Tripoli [50] => Africa/Tunis [51] => Africa/Windhoek [52] => America/Adak [53] => America/Anchorage [54] => America/Anguilla [55] => America/Antigua [56] => America/Araguaina [57] => America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires [58] => America/Argentina/Catamarca [59] => America/Argentina/Cordoba [60] => America/Argentina/Jujuy [61] => America/Argentina/La_Rioja [62] => America/Argentina/Mendoza [63] => America/Argentina/Rio_Gallegos [64] => America/Argentina/Salta [65] => America/Argentina/San_Juan [66] => America/Argentina/San_Luis [67] => America/Argentina/Tucuman [68] => America/Argentina/Ushuaia [69] => America/Aruba [70] => America/Asuncion [71] => America/Atikokan [72] => America/Bahia [73] => America/Bahia_Banderas [74] => America/Barbados [75] => America/Belem [76] => America/Belize [77] => America/Blanc-Sablon [78] => America/Boa_Vista [79] => America/Bogota [80] => America/Boise [81] => America/Cambridge_Bay [82] => America/Campo_Grande [83] => America/Cancun [84] => America/Caracas [85] => America/Cayenne [86] => America/Cayman [87] => America/Chicago [88] => America/Chihuahua [89] => America/Costa_Rica [90] => America/Creston [91] => America/Cuiaba [92] => America/Curacao [93] => America/Danmarkshavn [94] => America/Dawson [95] => America/Dawson_Creek [96] => America/Denver [97] => America/Detroit [98] => America/Dominica [99] => America/Edmonton [100] => America/Eirunepe [101] => America/El_Salvador [102] => America/Fortaleza [103] => America/Glace_Bay [104] => America/Godthab [105] => America/Goose_Bay [106] => America/Grand_Turk [107] => America/Grenada [108] => America/Guadeloupe [109] => America/Guatemala [110] => America/Guayaquil [111] => America/Guyana [112] => America/Halifax [113] => America/Havana [114] => America/Hermosillo [115] => America/Indiana/Indianapolis [116] => America/Indiana/Knox [117] => America/Indiana/Marengo [118] => America/Indiana/Petersburg [119] => America/Indiana/Tell_City [120] => America/Indiana/Vevay [121] => America/Indiana/Vincennes [122] => America/Indiana/Winamac [123] => America/Inuvik [124] => America/Iqaluit [125] => America/Jamaica [126] => America/Juneau [127] => America/Kentucky/Louisville [128] => America/Kentucky/Monticello [129] => America/Kralendijk [130] => America/La_Paz [131] => America/Lima [132] => America/Los_Angeles [133] => America/Lower_Princes [134] => America/Maceio [135] => America/Managua [136] => America/Manaus [137] => America/Marigot [138] => America/Martinique [139] => America/Matamoros [140] => America/Mazatlan [141] => America/Menominee [142] => America/Merida [143] => America/Metlakatla [144] => America/Mexico_City [145] => America/Miquelon [146] => America/Moncton [147] => America/Monterrey [148] => America/Montevideo [149] => America/Montserrat [150] => America/Nassau [151] => America/New_York [152] => America/Nipigon [153] => America/Nome [154] => America/Noronha [155] => America/North_Dakota/Beulah [156] => America/North_Dakota/Center [157] => America/North_Dakota/New_Salem [158] => America/Ojinaga [159] => America/Panama [160] => America/Pangnirtung [161] => America/Paramaribo [162] => America/Phoenix [163] => America/Port-au-Prince [164] => America/Port_of_Spain [165] => America/Porto_Velho [166] => America/Puerto_Rico [167] => America/Rainy_River [168] => America/Rankin_Inlet [169] => America/Recife [170] => America/Regina [171] => America/Resolute [172] => America/Rio_Branco [173] => America/Santa_Isabel [174] => America/Santarem [175] => America/Santiago [176] => America/Santo_Domingo [177] => America/Sao_Paulo [178] => America/Scoresbysund [179] => America/Sitka [180] => America/St_Barthelemy [181] => America/St_Johns [182] => America/St_Kitts [183] => America/St_Lucia [184] => America/St_Thomas [185] => America/St_Vincent [186] => America/Swift_Current [187] => America/Tegucigalpa [188] => America/Thule [189] => America/Thunder_Bay [190] => America/Tijuana [191] => America/Toronto [192] => America/Tortola [193] => America/Vancouver [194] => America/Whitehorse [195] => America/Winnipeg [196] => America/Yakutat [197] => America/Yellowknife [198] => Antarctica/Casey [199] => Antarctica/Davis [200] => Antarctica/DumontDUrville [201] => Antarctica/Macquarie [202] => Antarctica/Mawson [203] => Antarctica/McMurdo [204] => Antarctica/Palmer [205] => Antarctica/Rothera [206] => Antarctica/Syowa [207] => Antarctica/Vostok [208] => Arctic/Longyearbyen [209] => Asia/Aden [210] => Asia/Almaty [211] => Asia/Amman [212] => Asia/Anadyr [213] => Asia/Aqtau [214] => Asia/Aqtobe [215] => Asia/Ashgabat [216] => Asia/Baghdad [217] => Asia/Bahrain [218] => Asia/Baku [219] => Asia/Bangkok [220] => Asia/Beirut [221] => Asia/Bishkek [222] => Asia/Brunei [223] => Asia/Choibalsan [224] => Asia/Chongqing [225] => Asia/Colombo [226] => Asia/Damascus [227] => Asia/Dhaka [228] => Asia/Dili [229] => Asia/Dubai [230] => Asia/Dushanbe [231] => Asia/Gaza [232] => Asia/Harbin [233] => Asia/Hebron [234] => Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh [235] => Asia/Hong_Kong [236] => Asia/Hovd [237] => Asia/Irkutsk [238] => Asia/Jakarta [239] => Asia/Jayapura [240] => Asia/Jerusalem [241] => Asia/Kabul [242] => Asia/Kamchatka [243] => Asia/Karachi [244] => Asia/Kashgar [245] => Asia/Kathmandu [246] => Asia/Khandyga [247] => Asia/Kolkata [248] => Asia/Krasnoyarsk [249] => Asia/Kuala_Lumpur [250] => Asia/Kuching [251] => Asia/Kuwait [252] => Asia/Macau [253] => Asia/Magadan [254] => Asia/Makassar [255] => Asia/Manila [256] => Asia/Muscat [257] => Asia/Nicosia [258] => Asia/Novokuznetsk [259] => Asia/Novosibirsk [260] => Asia/Omsk [261] => Asia/Oral [262] => Asia/Phnom_Penh [263] => Asia/Pontianak [264] => Asia/Pyongyang [265] => Asia/Qatar [266] => Asia/Qyzylorda [267] => Asia/Rangoon [268] => Asia/Riyadh [269] => Asia/Sakhalin [270] => Asia/Samarkand [271] => Asia/Seoul [272] => Asia/Shanghai [273] => Asia/Singapore [274] => Asia/Taipei [275] => Asia/Tashkent [276] => Asia/Tbilisi [277] => Asia/Tehran [278] => Asia/Thimphu [279] => Asia/Tokyo [280] => Asia/Ulaanbaatar [281] => Asia/Urumqi [282] => Asia/Ust-Nera [283] => Asia/Vientiane [284] => Asia/Vladivostok [285] => Asia/Yakutsk [286] => Asia/Yekaterinburg [287] => Asia/Yerevan [288] => Atlantic/Azores [289] => Atlantic/Bermuda [290] => Atlantic/Canary [291] => Atlantic/Cape_Verde [292] => Atlantic/Faroe [293] => Atlantic/Madeira [294] => Atlantic/Reykjavik [295] => Atlantic/South_Georgia [296] => Atlantic/St_Helena [297] => Atlantic/Stanley [298] => Australia/Adelaide [299] => Australia/Brisbane [300] => Australia/Broken_Hill [301] => Australia/Currie [302] => Australia/Darwin [303] => Australia/Eucla [304] => Australia/Hobart [305] => Australia/Lindeman [306] => Australia/Lord_Howe [307] => Australia/Melbourne [308] => Australia/Perth [309] => Australia/Sydney [310] => Europe/Amsterdam [311] => Europe/Andorra [312] => Europe/Athens [313] => Europe/Belgrade [314] => Europe/Berlin [315] => Europe/Bratislava [316] => Europe/Brussels [317] => Europe/Bucharest [318] => Europe/Budapest [319] => Europe/Busingen [320] => Europe/Chisinau [321] => Europe/Copenhagen [322] => Europe/Dublin [323] => Europe/Gibraltar [324] => Europe/Guernsey [325] => Europe/Helsinki [326] => Europe/Isle_of_Man [327] => Europe/Istanbul [328] => Europe/Jersey [329] => Europe/Kaliningrad [330] => Europe/Kiev [331] => Europe/Lisbon [332] => Europe/Ljubljana [333] => Europe/London [334] => Europe/Luxembourg [335] => Europe/Madrid [336] => Europe/Malta [337] => Europe/Mariehamn [338] => Europe/Minsk [339] => Europe/Monaco [340] => Europe/Moscow [341] => Europe/Oslo [342] => Europe/Paris [343] => Europe/Podgorica [344] => Europe/Prague [345] => Europe/Riga [346] => Europe/Rome [347] => Europe/Samara [348] => Europe/San_Marino [349] => Europe/Sarajevo [350] => Europe/Simferopol [351] => Europe/Skopje [352] => Europe/Sofia [353] => Europe/Stockholm [354] => Europe/Tallinn [355] => Europe/Tirane [356] => Europe/Uzhgorod [357] => Europe/Vaduz [358] => Europe/Vatican [359] => Europe/Vienna [360] => Europe/Vilnius [361] => Europe/Volgograd [362] => Europe/Warsaw [363] => Europe/Zagreb [364] => Europe/Zaporozhye [365] => Europe/Zurich [366] => Indian/Antananarivo [367] => Indian/Chagos [368] => Indian/Christmas [369] => Indian/Cocos [370] => Indian/Comoro [371] => Indian/Kerguelen [372] => Indian/Mahe [373] => Indian/Maldives [374] => Indian/Mauritius [375] => Indian/Mayotte [376] => Indian/Reunion [377] => Pacific/Apia [378] => Pacific/Auckland [379] => Pacific/Chatham [380] => Pacific/Chuuk [381] => Pacific/Easter [382] => Pacific/Efate [383] => Pacific/Enderbury [384] => Pacific/Fakaofo [385] => Pacific/Fiji [386] => Pacific/Funafuti [387] => Pacific/Galapagos [388] => Pacific/Gambier [389] => Pacific/Guadalcanal [390] => Pacific/Guam [391] => Pacific/Honolulu [392] => Pacific/Johnston [393] => Pacific/Kiritimati [394] => Pacific/Kosrae [395] => Pacific/Kwajalein [396] => Pacific/Majuro [397] => Pacific/Marquesas [398] => Pacific/Midway [399] => Pacific/Nauru [400] => Pacific/Niue [401] => Pacific/Norfolk [402] => Pacific/Noumea [403] => Pacific/Pago_Pago [404] => Pacific/Palau [405] => Pacific/Pitcairn [406] => Pacific/Pohnpei [407] => Pacific/Port_Moresby [408] => Pacific/Rarotonga [409] => Pacific/Saipan [410] => Pacific/Tahiti [411] => Pacific/Tarawa [412] => Pacific/Tongatapu [413] => Pacific/Wake [414] => Pacific/Wallis [415] => UTC )
So there is not EST listed. However $date = DateTime::createFromFormat('T', 'EST'); works without problems, in contrast to $date = DateTime::createFromFormat('(T)', '(EST)');.
I could not manage to get exactly that example working, but maybe my mentioned thoughts can help you.
BTW: The following worked for me:
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat('(D g:iA)', '(Tue 7:00AM)'); (without timezone)
You don't need to trim out the brackets, your date format can be parsed by \DateTime::createFromFormat() without any problems:-
$dateStr = "(Tue 7:00AM EST)";
$date = \DateTime::createFromFormat("(D g:iA T", $dateStr);
var_dump($date);
You will notice that the trick is to leave out the trailing ).
Output:-
object(DateTime)[1]
public 'date' => string '2014-01-21 07:00:00' (length=19)
public 'timezone_type' => int 2
public 'timezone' => string 'EST' (length=3)
See it working and the manual for formats accepted by DateTime::createFromFormat().
trimming out the brackets?