How to Convert Date Strings to MySQL DATETIME Fields?

Converting Date Strings to MySQL DATETIME Fields

When working with data, it is often necessary to convert date strings to a structured format compatible with database fields. MySQL's DATETIME data type is commonly used to store timestamps and dates with precision. This article provides a solution for converting date strings to a MySQL DATETIME field.

Problem:

You have a list of records with dates stored as strings in the format '04/17/2009' and want to convert them to MySQL DATETIME fields. You intend to iterate through the records using a loop, extracting the old date values and inserting the newly formatted values into a separate field.

Solution:

PHP offers a straightforward way to perform this conversion. Here's a step-by-step approach:

Convert to Timestamp:

To start, convert the date string into a PHP timestamp using the strtotime() function. The timestamp represents the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.

<code class="php">$timestamp = strtotime($string);</code>

Format to MySQL DATETIME:

Once you have the timestamp, you can convert it to a MySQL DATETIME format using the date() function. Specify the desired format as "Y-m-d H:i:s."

<code class="php">$datetime = date("Y-m-d H:i:s", $timestamp);</code>

Now you have a formatted datetime string compatible with the DATETIME field in MySQL. You can insert it into the database accordingly.

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