Date Helper

Codeigniter Date Helper : Codeigniter provides the helper which is used to work with dates. Here in this tutorial we are going to explain how you can use date helper in Codeigniter. You can use our online editor run and see the output of the example.

Date Helper in Codeigniter

Let us go step by step –

Load Date Helper

First of all load helper(data) before using it. You can the helper(date) simply as below-

$this->load->helper('date');

After Loading this helper now you are able to use it’s functions.

Functions of Date Helper

Following functions are present in the date helper.

now Function

This function returns the current time as a UNIX timestamp, referenced by the server’s local time or any other PHP suported timezone based upon the time reference setting in config.

now($timezone = NULL)

Parameters:

• $timezone (string) – Timezone
• Returns (int) : UNIX timestamp

Now Function Example :

$timeZone = 'America/Costa_Rica';
now($timeZone);

If $timeZone = ‘America/Costa_Rica’; is not passed it will give the time() based on the time_reference settings.

2. mdate Function

This function is somehow similar to the date() function. In addition it enables you to use this function in mysql style date function.

mdate($datestr = '', $time = '')

Parameters:

• $datestr (string) – Date String
• $time (int) – Unix Timestamp
• Returns (int) : String.

mdate Function Example :

$datestr = ' %Y - %m - %d - %h:%i %a';
$time = time();
echo mdate($datestr, $time);

3. standard_date Function

standard_date($format = 'DATE_RFC822', $time = NULL)

Parameters:

• $format (string) – Date Format
• $time (int) – Unix Timestamp
• Returns (int) : String.

standard_date Function Example :

$datestr = ' %Y - %m - %d - %h:%i %a';
$time = time();
echo mdate($datestr, $time);

4. local_to_gmt Function

This function converts the UNIX timestamp into GMT.

local_to_gmt($time = NULL)

Parameters:

$time (int) – Unix Timestamp

• Returns (int) : Int.

Example :

$gmt = local_to_gmt(time());
echo $gmt;

5. gmt_to_local Function

This function converts GMT timestamp into the localized UNIX timestamp.

gmt_to_local($time = NULL)

Parameters:

$time (int) – Unix Timestamp

• Returns (int) : Int.

6. mysql_to_unix Function

This function converts mysql timestamp into the UNIX timestamp.

mysql_to_unix($time = NULL)

Parameters:

$time (int) – Unix Timestamp

• Returns (int) : Int.

7. unix_to_human Function

This function converts UNIX timestamp to human date format.

unix_to_human($time = '', $seconds = FALSE, $format = 'us')

Parameters:

• $time (int) – Unix Timestamp
• $seconds (bool) – Pass true to show seconds else false.
• $format (string) – String Format.
• Returns (String) : String.

8. human_to_unix Function

This function date into the UNIX timestamp.

human_to_unix($dateString)

Parameters:

• $dateString – Date String
• Returns (Int) : int.

9. nice_date Function

This function takes bad date string and converts it into the proper formatted date..

nice_date($badDate, $format = FALSE)

Parameters:

• $badDate – Date String not in proper format.
• $format – Format To Be returned.
• Returns (Date) : formatted date.

Example

$badDate = '199005';
$date = nice_date($badDate, 'Y-m-d');
// Will give: 1990-05-01

10. timespan Function

This function formats the UNIX timestamp date..

timespan($seconds = 1, $time = '', $units = '')

Parameters:

• $seconds – No Of seconds.
• $time – UNIX timestamp.
• $units – time unit to return.
• Returns (Date) : formatted date.

11. days_in_month Function

This function returns the number of days in specified year.

days_in_month($month = 0, $year = '')

Parameters:

• $month – Month.
• $year – Year.
• Returns (Days) : No of days.

Example

echo days_in_month(08, 2006);

12. date_range Function

This function returns the array of dates between two specified dates.

date_range($unix_start = '', $mixed = '', $is_unix = TRUE, $format = 'Y-m-d')

Parameters:

• $unix_start – UNIX timestamp start date.
• $mixed – UNIX timestamp of the range end date.
• $is_unix – This if set to FALSE if $mixed is not a timestamp.
• $format – Output format.
• Returns (Dates) : Returns all dates within the range.

Example

$dateRange = date_range('2014-03-01', '2014-01-20');
print_r($dateRange); // will give you all dates between the range.

13. timezones Function

This function returns the returns the number of hours offset from UTC using the timestamp.

timezones($timezone)

Parameters:

• $timezone – Numeric timezone.
• Returns (int) : Returns hours diff.

14. timezone_menu Function

This function is used to create the dropdown menu of timezones.

timezone_menu($default = 'UTC', $class = '', $name = 'timezones', $attributes = '')

Parameters:

• $default (string) – Timezone
• $class (string) – Class name
• $name (string) – Menu name
• $attributes (mixed) – HTML attributes
• Returns (HTML) : Returns HTML Dropdown menu of timezones.

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