Which is Better for Determining User Timezone: PHP or JavaScript?

Determining User Timezone: PHP vs. JavaScript

When it comes to obtaining a user's timezone, there are two popular options: PHP and JavaScript. Both approaches have their advantages, but JavaScript offers a more versatile solution due to its ability to dynamically interact with the user's browser.

PHP Approach:

<code class="php">session_start();
$timezone = $_SESSION['time'];</code>

This PHP snippet retrieves the timezone stored in the session variable time. To populate this variable initially, JavaScript can be used.

JavaScript Approach:

<code class="javascript">$(document).ready(function() {
  if ("<?= $timezone; ?>".length == 0) {
    var visitortime = new Date();
    var visitortimezone = "GMT " + -visitortime.getTimezoneOffset()/60;
    $.ajax({
      type: "GET",
      url: "timezone.php",
      data: 'time=' + visitortimezone,
      success: function() {
        location.reload();
      }
    });
  }
});</code>

This JavaScript code uses jQuery to dynamically set the time session variable on the server using an AJAX request.

timezone.php:

<code class="php">session_start();
$_SESSION['time'] = $_GET['time'];</code>

This PHP script receives the timezone from the JavaScript request and stores it in the session.

Comparison:

While both PHP and JavaScript can be used to determine a user's timezone, JavaScript with session variables provides a more robust solution for dynamic and complex applications. It allows for the timezone to be obtained and stored server-side, while the JavaScript ensures that the timezone is only set if it's not already available.

The above is the detailed content of Which is Better for Determining User Timezone: PHP or JavaScript?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!