Query: strftime
OS: php
Section: 3
Format: Original Unix Latex Style Formatted with HTML and a Horizontal Scroll Bar
STRFTIME(3) 1 STRFTIME(3) strftime - Format a local time/date according to locale settingsSYNOPSISstring strftime (string $format, [int $timestamp = time()])DESCRIPTIONFormat the time and/or date according to locale settings. Month and weekday names and other language-dependent strings respect the current locale set with setlocale(3). Not all conversion specifiers may be supported by your C library, in which case they will not be supported by PHP's strftime(3). Addition- ally, not all platforms support negative timestamps, so your date range may be limited to no earlier than the Unix epoch. This means that %e, %T, %R and, %D (and possibly others) - as well as dates prior to Jan 1, 1970 - will not work on Windows, some Linux distributions, and a few other operating systems. For Windows systems, a complete overview of supported conversion specifiers can be found at MSDN.PARAMETERSo $format - The following characters are recognized in the $format parameter string +---------------------+--------------------------------------+---+ | $format | | | | | | | | | Description | | | | | | | | Example returned values | | | | | | +---------------------+--------------------------------------+---+ | | | | | Day | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %a | | | | | | | | | An abbreviated textual representa- | | | | tion of the day | | | | | | | | | | | | Sun through Sat | | | | | | | | | | | %A | | | | | | | | | A full textual representation of the | | | | day | | | | | | | | | | | | Sunday through Saturday | | | | | | | | | | | %d | | | | | | | | | Two-digit day of the month (with | | | | leading zeros) | | | | | | | | | | | | 01 to 31 | | | | | | | | | | | %e | | | | | | | | | Day of the month, with a space pre- | | | | ceding single digits. Not imple- | | | | mented as described on Windows. See | | | | below for more information. | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 to 31 | | | | | | | | | | | %j | | | | | | | | | Day of the year, 3 digits with lead- | | | | ing zeros | | | | | | | | | | | | 001 to 366 | | | | | | | | | | | %u | | | | | | | | | ISO-8601 numeric representation of | | | | the day of the week | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 (for Monday) though 7 (for Sunday) | | | | | | | | | | | %w | | | | | | | | | Numeric representation of the day of | | | | the week | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 (for Sunday) through 6 (for Satur- | | | | day) | | | | | | | | | | | Week | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %U | | | | | | | | | Week number of the given year, | | | | starting with the first Sunday as | | | | the first week | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 (for the 13th full week of the | | | | year) | | | | | | | | | | | %V | | | | | | | | | ISO-8601:1988 week number of the | | | | given year, starting with the first | | | | week of the year with at least 4 | | | | weekdays, with Monday being the | | | | start of the week | | | | | | | | | | | | 01 through 53 (where 53 accounts for | | | | an overlapping week) | | | | | | | | | | | %W | | | | | | | | | A numeric representation of the week | | | | of the year, starting with the first | | | | Monday as the first week | | | | | | | | | | | | 46 (for the 46th week of the year | | | | beginning with a Monday) | | | | | | | | | | | Month | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %b | | | | | | | | | Abbreviated month name, based on the | | | | locale | | | | | | | | | | | | Jan through Dec | | | | | | | | | | | %B | | | | | | | | | Full month name, based on the locale | | | | | | | | | | | | January through December | | | | | | | | | | | %h | | | | | | | | | Abbreviated month name, based on the | | | | locale (an alias of %b) | | | | | | | | | | | | Jan through Dec | | | | | | | | | | | %m | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the | | | | month | | | | | | | | | | | | 01 (for January) through 12 (for | | | | December) | | | | | | | | | | | Year | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %C | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the cen- | | | | tury (year divided by 100, truncated | | | | to an integer) | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 for the 20th Century | | | | | | | | | | | %g | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the year | | | | going by ISO-8601:1988 standards | | | | (see %V) | | | | | | | | Example: 09 for the week of January | | | | 6, 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | %G | | | | | | | | | The full four-digit version of %g | | | | | | | | Example: 2008 for the week of Janu- | | | | ary 3, 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | %y | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the year | | | | | | | | Example: 09 for 2009, 79 for 1979 | | | | | | | | | | | %Y | | | | | | | | | Four digit representation for the | | | | year | | | | | | | | Example: 2038 | | | | | | | | | | | Time | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %H | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the hour | | | | in 24-hour format | | | | | | | | | | | | 00 through 23 | | | | | | | | | | | %k | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the hour | | | | in 24-hour format, with a space pre- | | | | ceding single digits | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 through 23 | | | | | | | | | | | %I | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the hour | | | | in 12-hour format | | | | | | | | | | | | 01 through 12 | | | | | | | | | | |%l (lower-case 'L') | | | | | | | | | Hour in 12-hour format, with a space | | | | preceding single digits | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 through 12 | | | | | | | | | | | %M | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the | | | | minute | | | | | | | | | | | | 00 through 59 | | | | | | | | | | | %p | | | | | | | | | UPPER-CASE 'AM' or 'PM' based on the | | | | given time | | | | | | | | Example: AM for 00:31, PM for 22:23 | | | | | | | | | | | %P | | | | | | | | | lower-case 'am' or 'pm' based on the | | | | given time | | | | | | | | Example: am for 00:31, pm for 22:23 | | | | | | | | | | | %r | | | | | | | | | Same as "%I:%M:%S %p" | | | | | | | | Example: 09:34:17 PM for 21:34:17 | | | | | | | | | | | %R | | | | | | | | | Same as "%H:%M" | | | | | | | | Example: 00:35 for 12:35 AM, 16:44 | | | | for 4:44 PM | | | | | | | | | | | %S | | | | | | | | | Two digit representation of the sec- | | | | ond | | | | | | | | | | | | 00 through 59 | | | | | | | | | | | %T | | | | | | | | | Same as "%H:%M:%S" | | | | | | | | Example: 21:34:17 for 09:34:17 PM | | | | | | | | | | | %X | | | | | | | | | Preferred time representation based | | | | on locale, without the date | | | | | | | | Example: 03:59:16 or 15:59:16 | | | | | | | | | | | %z | | | | | | | | | The time zone offset. Not imple- | | | | mented as described on Windows. See | | | | below for more information. | | | | | | | | Example: -0500 for US Eastern Time | | | | | | | | | | | %Z | | | | | | | | | The time zone abbreviation. Not | | | | implemented as described on Windows. | | | | See below for more information. | | | | | | | | Example: EST for Eastern Time | | | | | | | | | | |Time and Date Stamps | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %c | | | | | | | | | Preferred date and time stamp based | | | | on locale | | | | | | | | Example: Tue Feb 5 00:45:10 2009 for | | | | February 5, 2009 at 12:45:10 AM | | | | | | | | | | | %D | | | | | | | | | Same as "%m/%d/%y" | | | | | | | | Example: 02/05/09 for February 5, | | | | 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | %F | | | | | | | | | Same as "%Y-%m-%d" (commonly used in | | | | database datestamps) | | | | | | | | Example: 2009-02-05 for February 5, | | | | 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | %s | | | | | | | | | Unix Epoch Time timestamp (same as | | | | the time(3) function) | | | | | | | | Example: 305815200 for September 10, | | | | 1979 08:40:00 AM | | | | | | | | | | | %x | | | | | | | | | Preferred date representation based | | | | on locale, without the time | | | | | | | | Example: 02/05/09 for February 5, | | | | 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %n | | | | | | | | | A newline character (" ") | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %t | | | | | | | | | A Tab character (" ") | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | | | | | | %% | | | | | | | | | A literal percentage character ("%") | | | | | | | | --- | | | | | | +---------------------+--------------------------------------+---+ Maximum length of this parameter is 1023 characters. Warning Contrary to ISO-9899:1999, Sun Solaris starts with Sunday as 1. As a result, %u may not function as described in this man- ual. Warning Windows only: The %e modifier is not supported in the Windows implementation of this function. To achieve this value, the %#d modifier can be used instead. The example below illustrates how to write a cross platform compatible function. The %z and %Z modifiers both return the time zone name instead of the offset or abbreviation. Warning Mac OS X only: The %P modifier is not supported in the Mac OS X implementation of this function. o $timestamp - The optional $timestamp parameter is an integer Unix timestamp that defaults to the current local time if a $timestamp is not given. In other words, it defaults to the value of time(3).RETURN VALUESReturns a string formatted according $format using the given $timestamp or the current local time if no timestamp is given. Month and weekday names and other language-dependent strings respect the current locale set with setlocale(3).ERRORS/EXCEPTIONS Every call to a date/time function will generate a E_NOTICE if the time zone is not valid, and/or a E_STRICT or E_WARNING message if using the system settings or the $TZ environment variable. See also date_default_timezone_set(3) As the output is dependent upon the underlying C library, some conversion specifiers are not supported. On Windows, supplying unknown con- version specifiers will result in 5 E_WARNING messages and return FALSE. On other operating systems you may not get any E_WARNING messages and the output may contain the conversion specifiers unconverted.CHANGELOG+--------+---------------------------------------------------+ |Version | | | | | | | Description | | | | +--------+---------------------------------------------------+ | 5.1.0 | | | | | | | Now issues the E_STRICT and E_NOTICE time zone | | | errors. | | | | +--------+---------------------------------------------------+EXAMPLESThis example will work if you have the respective locales installed in your system. Example #1 strftime(3) locale examples <?php setlocale(LC_TIME, "C"); echo strftime("%A"); setlocale(LC_TIME, "fi_FI"); echo strftime(" in Finnish is %A,"); setlocale(LC_TIME, "fr_FR"); echo strftime(" in French %A and"); setlocale(LC_TIME, "de_DE"); echo strftime(" in German %A. "); ?> Example #2 ISO 8601:1988 week number example <?php /* December 2002 / January 2003 ISOWk M Tu W Thu F Sa Su ----- ---------------------------- 51 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 52 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 */ // Outputs: 12/28/2002 - %V,%G,%Y = 52,2002,2002 echo "12/28/2002 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y", strtotime("12/28/2002")) . " "; // Outputs: 12/30/2002 - %V,%G,%Y = 1,2003,2002 echo "12/30/2002 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y", strtotime("12/30/2002")) . " "; // Outputs: 1/3/2003 - %V,%G,%Y = 1,2003,2003 echo "1/3/2003 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("1/3/2003")) . " "; // Outputs: 1/10/2003 - %V,%G,%Y = 2,2003,2003 echo "1/10/2003 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("1/10/2003")) . " "; /* December 2004 / January 2005 ISOWk M Tu W Thu F Sa Su ----- ---------------------------- 51 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 52 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 53 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 */ // Outputs: 12/23/2004 - %V,%G,%Y = 52,2004,2004 echo "12/23/2004 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("12/23/2004")) . " "; // Outputs: 12/31/2004 - %V,%G,%Y = 53,2004,2004 echo "12/31/2004 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("12/31/2004")) . " "; // Outputs: 1/2/2005 - %V,%G,%Y = 53,2004,2005 echo "1/2/2005 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("1/2/2005")) . " "; // Outputs: 1/3/2005 - %V,%G,%Y = 1,2005,2005 echo "1/3/2005 - %V,%G,%Y = " . strftime("%V,%G,%Y",strtotime("1/3/2005")) . " "; ?> Example #3 Cross platform compatible example using the %e modifier <?php // Jan 1: results in: '%e%1%' (%%, e, %%, %e, %%) $format = '%%e%%%e%%'; // Check for Windows to find and replace the %e // modifier correctly if (strtoupper(substr(PHP_OS, 0, 3)) == 'WIN') { $format = preg_replace('#(?<!%)((?:%%)*)%e#', '1%#d', $format); } echo strftime($format); ?> Example #4 Display all known and unknown formats. <?php // Describe the formats. $strftimeFormats = array( 'A' => 'A full textual representation of the day', 'B' => 'Full month name, based on the locale', 'C' => 'Two digit representation of the century (year divided by 100, truncated to an integer)', 'D' => 'Same as "%m/%d/%y"', 'E' => '', 'F' => 'Same as "%Y-%m-%d"', 'G' => 'The full four-digit version of %g', 'H' => 'Two digit representation of the hour in 24-hour format', 'I' => 'Two digit representation of the hour in 12-hour format', 'J' => '', 'K' => '', 'L' => '', 'M' => 'Two digit representation of the minute', 'N' => '', 'O' => '', 'P' => 'lower-case "am" or "pm" based on the given time', 'Q' => '', 'R' => 'Same as "%H:%M"', 'S' => 'Two digit representation of the second', 'T' => 'Same as "%H:%M:%S"', 'U' => 'Week number of the given year, starting with the first Sunday as the first week', 'V' => 'ISO-8601:1988 week number of the given year, starting with the first week of the year with at least 4 weekdays, with Monday being the start of the week', 'W' => 'A numeric representation of the week of the year, starting with the first Monday as the first week', 'X' => 'Preferred time representation based on locale, without the date', 'Y' => 'Four digit representation for the year', 'Z' => 'The time zone offset/abbreviation option NOT given by %z (depends on operating system)', 'a' => 'An abbreviated textual representation of the day', 'b' => 'Abbreviated month name, based on the locale', 'c' => 'Preferred date and time stamp based on local', 'd' => 'Two-digit day of the month (with leading zeros)', 'e' => 'Day of the month, with a space preceding single digits', 'f' => '', 'g' => 'Two digit representation of the year going by ISO-8601:1988 standards (see %V)', 'h' => 'Abbreviated month name, based on the locale (an alias of %b)', 'i' => '', 'j' => 'Day of the year, 3 digits with leading zeros', 'k' => 'Hour in 24-hour format, with a space preceding single digits', 'l' => 'Hour in 12-hour format, with a space preceding single digits', 'm' => 'Two digit representation of the month', 'n' => 'A newline character (" ")', 'o' => '', 'p' => 'UPPER-CASE "AM" or "PM" based on the given time', 'q' => '', 'r' => 'Same as "%I:%M:%S %p"', 's' => 'Unix Epoch Time timestamp', 't' => 'A Tab character (" ")', 'u' => 'ISO-8601 numeric representation of the day of the week', 'v' => '', 'w' => 'Numeric representation of the day of the week', 'x' => 'Preferred date representation based on locale, without the time', 'y' => 'Two digit representation of the year', 'z' => 'Either the time zone offset from UTC or the abbreviation (depends on operating system)', '%' => 'A literal percentage character ("%")', ); // Results. $strftimeValues = array(); // Evaluate the formats whilst suppressing any errors. foreach($strftimeFormats as $format => $description){ if (False !== ($value = @strftime("%{$format}"))){ $strftimeValues[$format] = $value; } } // Find the longest value. $maxValueLength = 2 + max(array_map('strlen', $strftimeValues)); // Report known formats. foreach($strftimeValues as $format => $value){ echo "Known format : '{$format}' = ", str_pad("'{$value}'", $maxValueLength), " ( {$strftimeFormats[$format]} ) "; } // Report unknown formats. foreach(array_diff_key($strftimeFormats, $strftimeValues) as $format => $description){ echo "Unknown format : '{$format}' ", str_pad(' ', $maxValueLength), ($description ? " ( {$description} )" : ''), " "; } ?> The above example will output something similar to: Known format : 'A' = 'Friday' ( A full textual representation of the day ) Known format : 'B' = 'December' ( Full month name, based on the locale ) Known format : 'H' = '11' ( Two digit representation of the hour in 24-hour format ) Known format : 'I' = '11' ( Two digit representation of the hour in 12-hour format ) Known format : 'M' = '24' ( Two digit representation of the minute ) Known format : 'S' = '44' ( Two digit representation of the second ) Known format : 'U' = '48' ( Week number of the given year, starting with the first Sunday as the first week ) Known format : 'W' = '48' ( A numeric representation of the week of the year, starting with the first Monday as the first week ) Known format : 'X' = '11:24:44' ( Preferred time representation based on locale, without the date ) Known format : 'Y' = '2010' ( Four digit representation for the year ) Known format : 'Z' = 'GMT Standard Time' ( The time zone offset/abbreviation option NOT given by %z (depends on operating system) ) Known format : 'a' = 'Fri' ( An abbreviated textual representation of the day ) Known format : 'b' = 'Dec' ( Abbreviated month name, based on the locale ) Known format : 'c' = '12/03/10 11:24:44' ( Preferred date and time stamp based on local ) Known format : 'd' = '03' ( Two-digit day of the month (with leading zeros) ) Known format : 'j' = '337' ( Day of the year, 3 digits with leading zeros ) Known format : 'm' = '12' ( Two digit representation of the month ) Known format : 'p' = 'AM' ( UPPER-CASE "AM" or "PM" based on the given time ) Known format : 'w' = '5' ( Numeric representation of the day of the week ) Known format : 'x' = '12/03/10' ( Preferred date representation based on locale, without the time ) Known format : 'y' = '10' ( Two digit representation of the year ) Known format : 'z' = 'GMT Standard Time' ( Either the time zone offset from UTC or the abbreviation (depends on operating system) ) Known format : '%' = '%' ( A literal percentage character ("%") ) Unknown format : 'C' ( Two digit representation of the century (year divided by 100, truncated to an integer) ) Unknown format : 'D' ( Same as "%m/%d/%y" ) Unknown format : 'E' Unknown format : 'F' ( Same as "%Y-%m-%d" ) Unknown format : 'G' ( The full four-digit version of %g ) Unknown format : 'J' Unknown format : 'K' Unknown format : 'L' Unknown format : 'N' Unknown format : 'O' Unknown format : 'P' ( lower-case "am" or "pm" based on the given time ) Unknown format : 'Q' Unknown format : 'R' ( Same as "%H:%M" ) Unknown format : 'T' ( Same as "%H:%M:%S" ) Unknown format : 'V' ( ISO-8601:1988 week number of the given year, starting with the first week of the year with at least 4 weekdays, with Monday being the start of the week ) Unknown format : 'e' ( Day of the month, with a space preceding single digits ) Unknown format : 'f' Unknown format : 'g' ( Two digit representation of the year going by ISO-8601:1988 standards (see %V) ) Unknown format : 'h' ( Abbreviated month name, based on the locale (an alias of %b) ) Unknown format : 'i' Unknown format : 'k' Unknown format : 'l' ( Hour in 12-hour format, with a space preceding single digits ) Unknown format : 'n' ( A newline character (" ") ) Unknown format : 'o' Unknown format : 'q' Unknown format : 'r' ( Same as "%I:%M:%S %p" ) Unknown format : 's' ( Unix Epoch Time timestamp ) Unknown format : 't' ( A Tab character (" ") ) Unknown format : 'u' ( ISO-8601 numeric representation of the day of the week ) Unknown format : 'v'NOTESNote %G and %V, which are based on ISO 8601:1988 week numbers can give unexpected (albeit correct) results if the numbering system is not thoroughly understood. See %V examples in this manual page.SEE ALSOOnline strftime() format design tool, setlocale(3), mktime(3), strptime(3), gmstrftime(3), Open Group specification of strftime(3). PHP Documentation Group STRFTIME(3)