PHP | strtotime() Function Last Updated : 31 Jul, 2021 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report The strtotime() function is a built-in function in PHP which is used to convert an English textual date-time description to a UNIX timestamp. The function accepts a string parameter in English which represents the description of date-time. For e.g., "now" refers to the current date in English date-time description. The function returns the time in seconds since the Unix Epoch. We can return the English textual date-time in date format using the date() function. Syntax: strtotime ($EnglishDateTime, $time_now) Parameters: The function accepts two parameters as shown above and described below: $EnglishDateTime - This parameter specifies the English textual date-time description, which represents the date or time to be returned. The function parses the string and returns us the time in seconds. The parameter is mandatory $time_now This parameter specifies the timestamp used to calculate the returned value. It is an optional parameter. Note: Since the time/date is not static, therefore the output will vary. Below programs illustrate the strtotime() function. Program 1: The below program demonstrates the strtotime() function when the english text is "now". php <?php // PHP program to demonstrate the strtotime() // function when the english text is "now" // prints current time in second // since now means current echo strtotime("now"), "\n"; // prints the current time in date format echo date("Y-m-d", strtotime("now"))."\n"; ?> Output: 1525378260 2018-05-03 Program 2: The below program demonstrates the strtotime() function when the english text is a date. php <?php // PHP program to demonstrate the strtotime() // function when the english text is a date // prints the converted english text in second echo strtotime("12th february 2017"), "\n"; // prints the above time in date format echo date("Y-m-d", strtotime("12th february 2017"))."\n"; ?> Output: 1486857600 2017-02-12 Program 3: The below program demonstrates the strtotime() function when the english text corresponds to any day. php <?php // PHP program to demonstrate the strtotime() // function when the english text corresponds to any // day // prints the converted english text in second echo strtotime("next sunday"), "\n"; // prints the above time in date format echo date("Y-m-d", strtotime("next sunday"))."\n"; ?> Output: 1525564800 2018-05-06 PHP is a server-side scripting language designed specifically for web development. 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