How to Convert a Timestamp to a Readable Date or Time in PHP

1. Use date() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date/Time in PHP
2. Use setTimestamp() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date in PHP
3. Use createFromFormat() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date in PHP

In this article, we will introduce methods to convert a timestamp to date in PHP.

• Using date() function
• Using setTimestamp() function
• Using createFromFormat() function

Use date() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date/Time in PHP

The date() function converts a timestamp to a human readable date or time. The correct syntax to use this function is as follows

date($format, $timestamp);

It has two parameters. The parameter $format is the date-time format that the timestamp is converted to. The other parameter $timestamp is an optional parameter. It gives the date according to the timestamp passed. If it is omitted, it uses the current date by default.

<?php  
$date = date('d-m-Y H:i:s', 1565600000);
echo "The date is $date.";  
?>

The date format here is day-month-year, and the time format is hour:minute:second.

Output:

The date and time are 12-08-2019 08:53:20.

Use setTimestamp() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date in PHP

The built-in setTimestamp() converts the given timestamp to date or time. To set the format of the date we will use format() function.

$datetimeObject->setTimestamp($timestamp); 

Example Codes:

<?php 
$date = new DateTime(); 
$date->setTimestamp(1565600000);  
$variable = $date->format('U = d-m-Y H:i:s'); 
echo "The date and time is $variable.";
?> 

Output:

The date and time are 1565600000 = 12-08-2019 08:53:20.

Use createFromFormat() Function to Convert a Timestamp to a Date in PHP

The built-in function createFromFormat() gets the date by passing the timestamp as a parameter to this function.

DateTime::createFromFormat($format, $time, $timezone);

The variable $format is the format of the date, $time is the time given in string and $timezone tells about the time zone. The first two parameters are the mandatory parameters.

<?php 
// Calling the createFromFormat() function  
$datetime = DateTime::createFromFormat('U', '1565600000'); 
// Getting the new formatted datetime 
$date= $datetime->format('d-m-Y H:i:s'); 
echo "The date and time is $date.";
?> 

The format "d-m-Y H:i:s" displays both date and time.

Output:

The date and time are 12-08-2019 08:53:20.