PHP Function Mktime
php function mktime is a handy tool for generating timestamps, performing time-based operations and formatting output. It is a powerful function that every PHP developer should master. The tips and techniques outlined in this article will help developers improve their use of the function and create more effective and efficient web applications.
The mktime() function takes the numeric components of a date (year, month, day, hour, minute and second) and creates a Unix timestamp for that time. This timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since the Unix Epoch. The function is similar to the date() function, however, mktime() uses the default time zone of the host server on which the script is running to determine the timezone, while date() relies on the Gregorian calendar to provide the information.
One of the biggest mistakes made when using mktime() is subtracting 86400 seconds from the time, which results in an incorrect timestamp during daylight-saving time changes. This mistake is easily avoided by calling the date_default_timezone_set() function before calling mktime(), which sets the time zone for all subsequent date and time functions in your script.
The mktime() function accepts an optional argument, is_dst, which indicates whether the date is during daylight saving time. It returns an integer Unix timestamp if all arguments are valid, or FALSE if any of the arguments is invalid. The is_dst argument was deprecated in PHP 5.1 and should be replaced with the new datezone handling features.