[SOLVED] Need to reformat standard numerical date (Y-m-d) to words

[vynsane]

I'm 95% done/happy with a news article index page script I've built, but I want to change the way the dates are formatted:

 

http://www.wallcrawlersweb.com/news/

 

right now, it's formatted in the "standard" (Y-m-d) configuration in the DB, but I want to output something like "February 13, 2007" instead of "2007-02-13". How can I reformat the data that's already there?

[fert]

$time=date("F, d Y",$date);

[vynsane]

k, I tried working with that, but I just got every single news item displayed as being posted in December 1969... Obviously not correct, so I need a little more guidance...

 

How would I use the above snippet here?

 

   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($newsobject)) {
      echo "<h3>".$row['date']."</h3>";

[fert]

http://us2.php.net/manual/en/function.strtotime.php

[vynsane]

*sigh*

 

yeah... been to the PHP Manual site many times. Thing of it is, I'm at a PHP help forum because I didn't understand that bit and figured I could get PHP help here. Not links and cryptic code with no explanation what-so-ever. What I've gotten here so far is the interweb equivalent to asking someone in the real world a question and having them not even acknowledge me more than with a point in the broad vicinity of what I asked about.

 

Basically, if you want to help, help. If not, don't bother posting.

[redarrow]

<?php

//time stamp made

$date=time();

//time stamp converted to readable use.

$result=date("d-m-y",$date);

echo $result;

//now the other way ok.

//the date of today.

$date=date("y-m-d");

//get the current date in a timesatamp.
$result=strtotime($date);

echo $result;

//now convert to readable use.

$result=date("d-m-y",$result);

?>

 

now learn mktime and coversions ok.

 

 

[Jessica]

If you read it and think about it for a while, you might notice that date() takes a TIMESTAMP as an argument, and strtotime takes a STRING and returns a TIMESTAMP. You have a STRING you need to format into ANOTHER STRING.

Let's try some logic. You have two functions offered to you which deal with string and timestamp conversion.

 

Don't be a smartass, leave that up to the people giving the help :-P

[artacus]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you are pulling those dates from a mysql database. If so, just format it while you are doing the query instead of doing it from php.

 

Try

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(myDateField, '%M %D, %Y')

[vynsane]

If you read it and think about it for a while, you might notice that date() takes a TIMESTAMP as an argument, and strtotime takes a STRING and returns a TIMESTAMP. You have a STRING you need to format into ANOTHER STRING.

Let's try some logic. You have two functions offered to you which deal with string and timestamp conversion.

 

Don't be a smartass, leave that up to the people giving the help :-P

 

Well, it was late last night and I didn't have the time to think about it for a while. I know you guys are trying to teach a dude to fish instead of giving him a fish, but I must not be using the correct bait or something - I'm just not getting it. I understand the gist of what you're saying, but when I try to implement, all my dates end up as December 31, 1969.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you are pulling those dates from a mysql database.

 

Correct, hence:

 

...right now, it's formatted in the "standard" (Y-m-d) configuration in the DB...

 

If so, just format it while you are doing the query instead of doing it from php.

 

Try

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(myDateField, '%M %D, %Y')

 

This is SOOO close, and outputs the correct date... only since I'm comparing distinct dates to the articles posted on that date, when I change the format BEFORE I compare the dates, it confuses my second query and I only get dates - no articles:

 

http://www.wallcrawlersweb.com/news/indexdate.php

 

Here's my code for the original news index page:

 

if ($category !=null)
  $newsobject = mysql_query("SELECT DISTINCT date FROM NewsItem WHERE category = '".$category."' ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT $offset, $rowsPerPage");
else
  $newsobject = mysql_query("SELECT DISTINCT date FROM NewsItem ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT $offset, $rowsPerPage");
    while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($newsobject)) {
      echo "\t\t\t<div class=\"newsday\">\n";
      echo "\t\t\t\t<h3>".$row['date']."</h3>\n";
    if ($category !=null)
      $newsitems = mysql_query("SELECT id, category, title, preview FROM NewsItem WHERE date = '".$row['date']."' AND category = '".$category."'");
    else
      $newsitems = mysql_query("SELECT id, category, title, preview FROM NewsItem WHERE date = '".$row['date']."'");
         while ($articles = mysql_fetch_array($newsitems)){
               echo ""STUFF"";
            }

 

if I do it your way:

 

if ($category !=null)
$newsobject = mysql_query("SELECT DISTINCT DATE_FORMAT(Date, '%M %D, %Y') as date FROM NewsItem WHERE category = '".$category."' ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT $offset, $rowsPerPage");
else
$newsobject = mysql_query("SELECT DISTINCT DATE_FORMAT(Date, '%M %D, %Y') as date FROM NewsItem ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT $offset, $rowsPerPage");
   while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($newsobject)) {
      echo "\t\t\t<div class=\"newsday\">\n";
      echo "\t\t\t\t<h3>".$row['date']."</h3>\n";
    if ($category !=null)
      $newsitems = mysql_query("SELECT id, category, title, preview FROM NewsItem WHERE date = '".$row['date']."' AND category = '".$category."'");
    else
      $newsitems = mysql_query("SELECT id, category, title, preview FROM NewsItem WHERE date = '".$row['date']."'");
         while ($articles = mysql_fetch_array($newsitems)){
            echo ""STUFF"";
           }

 

it can't compare .$row['date']. in the second query to the reformatted date in the first one...   

 

Anyway, guess I'll just have to keep fishing. Hopefully I don't starve to death before I catch one.

[vynsane]

okay, I got it - from here, somehow:

 

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_18594

 

      echo "\t\t\t\t<h3>";
      $formattedDate = date("F d, Y", strtotime($row['date']));
      echo "$formattedDate</h3>\n";

 

didn't realize I had to echo the variable - thought I could just echo the line above it...

[Jessica]

Good job

[vynsane]

Good job

 

Thanks, yeah... I do feel like I can fish now I appreciate the help. Sometimes I get tripped up with what is actually printing out the final data and echo the wrong thing.

[pkSML]

right now, it's formatted in the "standard" (Y-m-d) configuration in the DB, but I want to output something like "February 13, 2007" instead of "2007-02-13". How can I reformat the data that's already there?

 

This is SSSSSOOOOO easy! (Sorry if I seem to be gloating...)

 

Code --> http://code-bin.homedns.org/10

 

PS You might also see http://code-bin.homedns.org/8 to calculate the difference in days between 2 YMD values.

[suttercain]

The Spidey Database... nice. I run : The SupermanDatabase.com

[vynsane]

The Spidey Database... nice. I run : The SupermanDatabase.com

 

ha! awesome! that's a nice site!

[vynsane]

okay, so i may be a little slow with this whole strtotime thing, but i have to do another conversion that i'm having a problem with. is it possible to just use a month integer and get the month name using strtotime? on this page:

 

http://www.wallcrawlersweb.com/database/comicsbydate.php?month=02&year=2007

 

i'm getting all titles between the first and last of the month in the URL parameter... i need to get that "month=02" and turn it into "February". obviously i'm doing it wrong, because if you change the month to "03":

 

http://www.wallcrawlersweb.com/database/comicsbydate.php?month=03&year=2007

 

i get the correct date in the table, but the text version of the month remains "February" - so obviously it's only getting the current month. i've tried it many different ways, but i can't get it to spit out the correct month as prescribed from the URL parameter. this is what i've got right now:

 

    $month = $_GET['month'];
    $year = $_GET['year'];
    $fullMonth = date("F", mktime($month));

 

but i've tried it as this, too:

 

    $month = $_GET['month'];
    $year = $_GET['year'];
    $fullMonth = date("F", strtotime($_GET['month']));

 

or

 

    $month = $_GET['month'];
    $year = $_GET['year'];
    $fullMonth = date("F", strtotime($month));

 

and still get the current month instead of the month in the URL parameter when i try to echo "$fullMonth" in either the title tag or the red header bar above the table.

[vynsane]

nevermind, i finally figured it out... it's a bit complicated, and there's probably a better way of doing it, but this is what i came up with:

 

$month = $_GET['month'];
$year = $_GET['year'];

$montharray = mysql_query("SELECT releaseDate FROM ComicIssues WHERE releaseDate BETWEEN '".$year."-".$month."-01' AND '".$year."-".$month."-31' LIMIT 1");
       while ($dates = mysql_fetch_array($montharray)){
         $fulldate = $dates['releaseDate'];
         $fullMonth = date("F", strtotime($fulldate));

echo ""$fullMonth"";

[pkSML]

Here's a rather simple solution.

 

$month_num = (int) $_GET['month'];

$months["1"] = "January";
$months["2"] = "February";
$months["3"] = "March";
$months["4"] = "April";
$months["5"] = "May";
$months["6"] = "June";
$months["7"] = "July";
$months["8"] = "August";
$months["9"] = "September";
$months["10"] = "October";
$months["11"] = "November";
$months["12"] = "December";

echo "$months[$month_num]";