PHP gmdate() Function, Format GMT / UTC timezone - Date/Time Functions

Topic

What is a gmdate Function?
How to format GMT/UTC date and time?

Explanation

The "gmdate()" is used to format a GMT/UTC date and time.

Syntax:

    gmdate(format,timestamp)

In the above syntax the "format" is to specify how to return the results, 35 pre-defined formats are available. The "timestamp" is an optional field.

Example:

    <?php
    echo("Result with date():<br />");
    echo(date("l") . "<br />");
    echo(date("l dS \of F Y h:i:s A") . "<br />");
    echo("Oct 3,1975 was on a ".
    date("l", mktime(0,0,0,10,3,1975))."<br />");
    echo(date(DATE_RFC822) . "<br />");
    echo(date(DATE_ATOM,mktime(0,0,0,10,3,1975)) . "<br /><br />");

    echo("Result with gmdate():<br />");
    echo(gmdate("l")."<br />");
    echo(gmdate("l dS \of F Y h:i:s A")."<br />");
    echo("Oct 3,1975 was on a ".
    gmdate("l", mktime(0,0,0,10,3,1975))."<br />");
    echo(gmdate(DATE_RFC822)."<br />");
    echo(gmdate(DATE_ATOM,mktime(0,0,0,10,3,1975))."<br />");
    ?>

Result:

    Result with date():
    Tuesday
    Tuesday 24th of January 2006 02:41:22 PM
    Oct 3,1975 was on a Friday
    Tue, 24 Jan 2006 14:41:22 CET
    1975-10-03T00:00:00+0100

    Result with gmdate():
    Tuesday
    Tuesday 24th of January 2006 01:41:22 PM
    Oct 3,1975 was on a Thursday
    Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:41:22 GMT
    1975-10-02T23:00:00+0000

In the above example, the date() return the value of the current timezone, whereas, gmdate() function returns the value for GMT timezone values.

Note: (PHP 4, PHP 5)