I have variable of a time (stored in db as CHAR(8), because when stored as TIME throws object error) which I am trying to format and also use to calculate difference with another time.
In this example, the time is stored in DB as “06:00:00”, assigned to variable $scheduled_start.
I also have another variable fetched as below.
I then try to create a DateTime object.
$clockIn3 = new DateTime('1970-01-01 ' . $punches[$i]);
$clockIn4 = new DateTime('1970-01-01 ' . $scheduled_start);
I then try to get the difference:
$interval = $clockIn3->diff($clockIn4);
echo $interval->format('%H:%I:%S')
And i get correct format:
Difference Mins: 00:04:04
But when I try this, I get completely different result.
$clockIn4->format('%H:%I:%S')
Result:
%06:%0:%st
I also need to check if $clockIn3 and $clockIn4 match, but I can’t get what I am doing wrong?
5
The issue arises from how you’re using the format() method. When you call $clockIn4->format(‘%H:%I:%S’), you are incorrectly using the % symbols, which are not necessary in this case. The DateTime::format() method does not require % for formatting parameters, unlike the DateInterval::format() method, which is what you used to format the difference.
Remove the % symbols from the format() call when working with DateTime objects.
Check for equality between two DateTime objects by comparing them directly with the == operator or using the diff() method to see if the difference is zero.
Try this:
// Create DateTime objects
$clockIn3 = new DateTime('1970-01-01 ' . $punches[$i]);
$clockIn4 = new DateTime('1970-01-01 ' . $scheduled_start);
// Get the difference
$interval = $clockIn3->diff($clockIn4);
echo "Difference Mins: " . $interval->format('%H:%I:%S');
// Format the $clockIn4 time
echo $clockIn4->format('H:i:s');
// Check if $clockIn3 and $clockIn4 match
if ($clockIn3 == $clockIn4) {
echo "Times match";
} else {
echo "Times do not match";
}
I hope that helps.
1