Zend_Date is really a time saver class, I use it in almost every project I work, It handles time_zones, and date formatting pretty easy, leaving me more time to focus on other things.

The files that I need to use Zend_Date as a standalone class are:

Date.php and the Date folder from the Zend distribution package, and this is how I use it:

< ?php
set_include_path('./lib' . PATH_SEPARATOR . get_include_path());
include_once 'Zend/Date.php';
$tugId = isset($_GET['tugId']) ? (int) $_GET['tugId'] : false;
 
function formatDate($date) {
    /**
     * List of supported timezones
     * http://php.net/manual/en/timezones.php
     */
    if ($date) {
        $fmtDate = new Zend_Date($date, Zend_Date::ISO_8601);
        $fmtDate->setTimezone('America/Los_Angeles');
        return $fmtDate->toString(Zend_Date::DATETIME);
    } else {
        return '';
    }
}
 
if (is_int($tugId)) {
 $sql = 'SELECT modified_date FROM tuggler WHERE tug_id = ' . $tugId;
 $result = $db->fetchAssoc($sql);
 $response = 'Last Record Update: '.formatDate($row['modified_date']) .'';
} else {
 $response "nothing to return";
}
 
echo $response;

The response from the above would be Jul 9, 2009 11:41:20 AM but I can easily change it using one of the predefined constants, or I can make my own format.

3 Comments to “Format a Mysql DateTime Field with Zend_Date”

• October 28, 2011 at 2:33 am
  Matthias K. says:

  Hello,

  I am currently struggling with converting MySQL’s datetime format into a Zend_Date object. I’ve tried your code but unfortunately I cannot make Zend_Date to return the correct date or time for datetime values retrieved from the DB.

  Did you choose a simple datetime field for modified_date in your example? Or any other varchar value?

  Thanks in advance for any clarification.

  Best regards
• October 28, 2011 at 3:34 am
  Matthias K. says:

  UPDATE: it seems like I can’t use $fmtDate = new Zend_Date($date, Zend_Date::ISO_8601); directly but rather have to create a Zend_Date instance first and then set() the date and time:

  $date = new Zend_Date();
  $date->set($dateTimeStringFromMySQL, Zend_Date::ISO_8601);

  Although it would be nice to get it working with only one function call, at least I got it to run now.

  Best regards
• November 1, 2011 at 12:22 pm
  Ivan Villareal says:

  Good to know, perhaps you have a newer version of the framework? it always worked for me when passing the date when I do the object instantiation.