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DateTime::diff

DateTimeImmutable::diff

DateTimeInterface::diff

date_diff

(PHP 5 >= 5.3.0, PHP 7)

DateTime::diff -- DateTimeImmutable::diff -- DateTimeInterface::diff -- date_diff — Returns the difference between two DateTime objects

Description

Object oriented style

public DateTime::diff ( DateTimeInterface $targetObject [, bool $absolute = false ] ) : DateInterval|false

public DateTimeImmutable::diff ( DateTimeInterface $targetObject [, bool $absolute = false ] ) : DateInterval|false

public DateTimeInterface::diff ( DateTimeInterface $targetObject [, bool $absolute = false ] ) : DateInterval|false

Procedural style

date_diff ( DateTimeInterface $baseObject , DateTimeInterface $targetObject [, bool $absolute = false ] ) : DateInterval

Returns the difference between two DateTimeInterface objects.

Parameters

datetime: The date to compare to.
absolute: Should the interval be forced to be positive?

Return Values

The DateInterval object represents the difference between the two dates or false on failure.

The return value more specifically represents the interval to apply to the original object ($this or $originObject) to arrive at the $targetObject. This process is not always reversible.

Examples

Example #1 DateTime::diff() example

Object oriented style

<?php
$origin = new DateTime('2009-10-11');
$target = new DateTime('2009-10-13');
$interval = $origin->diff($target);
echo $interval->format('%R%a days');
?>

Procedural style

<?php
$origin = date_create('2009-10-11');
$target = date_create('2009-10-13');
$interval = date_diff($origin, $target);
echo $interval->format('%R%a days');
?>

The above examples will output:

+2 days

Example #2 DateTime object comparison

Note:

As of PHP 5.2.2, DateTime objects can be compared using comparison operators.

<?php
$date1 = new DateTime("now");
$date2 = new DateTime("tomorrow");

var_dump($date1 == $date2);
var_dump($date1 < $date2);
var_dump($date1 > $date2);
?>

The above example will output:

bool(false)
bool(true)
bool(false)