The date_create Function

The date_create function creates an object with a date, which can later be used to perform certain operations. For example, to add or subtract a time interval from the date using date_modify or to output the date in a different format using the date_format function.

Syntax

phpdate_create(?string $datetime = "now", ?DateTimeZone $timezone = null): DateTime|false

Example

Let's create an object with the date for the year 2025, month 12, day 31:

php<?php
  $date = date_create('2025-12-31');
  echo date_format($date, 'Y-m-d');
?>

Example

Let's create an object with the date for the year 2025, month 12, day 31, then add 1 day to it and output it in the format 'day.month.year':

php<?php
  $date = date_create('2025-12-31');
  
  date_modify($date, '1 day');
  echo date_format($date, 'd.m.Y');
?>

Code execution result:

php01.01.2026