How to set time zone Greenwich in php

When developing PHP programs, time is an inevitable problem. The PHP language itself is developed based on Greenwich Mean Time, which means that PHP programs also use Greenwich Mean Time by default.

However, many applications require the date and time in a specific time zone to be displayed in the code. For example, your website may need to display the local time in the user's region or activate certain features during a specific time period. At this time, you need to set the time zone in PHP to accurately obtain the current time.

Why do you need to set the time zone?

Why do we need to set the time zone? For example, suppose you are in Los Angeles, USA, running a PHP code on the server, and you want to get the current time and use it to perform an activity. However, because the time zone in Los Angeles is different from the time zone where the server is located, the program may get the wrong time.

What are the consequences of doing this? If your website is an online store, the order date and time will be inconsistent with the actual date and time, leaving users confused and dissatisfied. And if your program needs to activate certain activities within a specific time period, and these time periods need to be calculated according to the standards of the user's region, then the program may have bugs due to time deviation. At this time, we need to use the time zone setting in PHP to solve this problem.

How to set time zone in PHP?

In PHP, time-related functions depend on the set time zone. Therefore, to get the current time correctly, you need to set the correct time zone in your PHP code.

The way to set the time zone is very simple, just use the date_default_timezone_set() function. This function requires a parameter representing the time zone that needs to be set. For example, in Los Angeles, USA, you can set the time zone like this:

date_default_timezone_set('America/Los_Angeles');

The following are some common time zone settings:

• New York ：'America/New_York'
• London: 'Europe/London'
• Tokyo: 'Asia/Tokyo'
• Shanghai: 'Asia/Shanghai'

It is worth noting that the time zone names provided by the PHP official website are not always directly equivalent to country or city names. Therefore, it is recommended that you use the time zone name provided on the PHP official website when setting the time zone. The website provides a comprehensive list of time zones that you can view and set according to your own time zone.

In addition to using the date_default_timezone_set() function, we can also use the ini_set() function to set the time zone. This method needs to be set using the php.ini configuration file. If you have a high degree of control over the system and server and want to set the time zone globally, then using the php.ini file may be more suitable for you.

In the php.ini file we need to find the following string:

[Date]
; Defines the default timezone used by the date functions
; http:// php.net/date.timezone
;date.timezone =

Remove the comment from the last line and add the time zone you need, for example:

date.timezone = "Asia /Shanghai"

Then save and close the file, restart the web server, and the time zone setting can be applied to the PHP program.

Summary

When developing PHP programs, time zone setting is very necessary. By setting the correct time zone, we can obtain the current time correctly and provide accurate information and services to users. Especially in a global application environment, time zone differences require more attention.

When using time zone, we can use PHP's built-in functions date_default_timezone_set() and ini_set() to set it. Through these methods, we can correctly display the local time in PHP applications, thereby providing users with better experience and services.

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