The DateTime::diff() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which is used to return the difference between two given DateTime objects.
Syntax:
- Object oriented style:
DateInterval DateTime::diff( DateTimeInterface $datetime2, bool $absolute = FALSE )or
DateInterval DateTimeImmutable::diff( DateTimeInterface $datetime2, bool $absolute = FALSE )or
DateInterval DateTimeInterface::diff( DateTimeInterface $datetime2, bool $absolute = FALSE ) - Procedural style:
DateInterval date_diff( DateTimeInterface $datetime1, DateTimeInterface $datetime2, bool $absolute = FALSE )
Parameters: This function uses two parameters as mentioned above and described below:
- $datetime: This parameter holds the date to compare with first date.
- $absolute: This parameter forced the interval to be positive.
Return Value: This function return the difference between two given DateTime objects.
Below programs illustrate the DateTime::diff() function in PHP:
Program 1:
<?php   // Initialising the two datetime objects $datetime1 = new DateTime('2019-9-10'); $datetime2 = new DateTime('2019-9-15');   // Calling the diff() function on above // two DateTime objects $difference = $datetime1->diff($datetime2);   // Getting the difference between two // given DateTime objects echo $difference->format('%R%a days'); ?> |
Output:
+5 days
Program 2:
<?php   // Initialising the two datetime objects $datetime1 = new DateTime('2019-8-10'); $datetime2 = new DateTime('2019-9-10');   // Calling the diff() function on above // two DateTime objects $difference = $datetime1->diff($datetime2);   // Getting the difference between two // given DateTime objects echo $difference->format('%R%a days'); ?> |
Output:
+31 days
