Compare dates
How correct is it to compare dates in this way?
$today = date('Y-m-d');
$outdate = "2011-11-02";
if($today >= $outdate) {...
Previously, I know it was necessary to translate into different timestamps, but it looks like now, if you set the date in this format. everything should be OK, shouldn't it?
3 answers
If the dates are exactly in the same format, then it is logical to compare them as strings, i.e.
$date1='2011-02-12';
$date2='2012-02-13';
$result=($date1<$date2); //$result === true
But if you are not sure that the date format is the same, then it is better to convert them to the unixtime format and compare them as numbers:
$date1='2011-02-12';
$date2='13.02.2012';
$result=($date1<$date2); //$result === false
$result=(strtotime($date1)<strtotime($date2)); //$result === true
Use the strtotime function, i.e. translate your strings that you get via date into a unix timestamp, i.e. into an int number, and then you can conveniently compare
You can not compare dates as strings in any case, this will not be correct if you have:
$date1 = '01.03.1956';
$date2 = '05.06.1930';
Expression $date2 > $date1 ? true : false; Returns true for the reason that the strings are compared character-by-character, respectively, since 5 > 1, the string $date2 > $date1.
Of course, the 2011-02-12 format will return a valid comparison, but this is potentially dangerous code.