UNIX timestamp always in GMT?

Question

UNIX timestamp always in GMT?

I tried to run php function time()

and when I tried to convert the unix timestamp from the time() function, the output is not similar to the computer time.

Thank You

Answer 1

yep, UNIX timestamp represents how much seconds past from unix-time epoch in GMT-0

Answer 2

UNIX timestamp (A.K.A. Unix's epoch) means elapsed seconds since January 1st 1970 00:00:00 UTC (Universal Time). So , if you need the time in a specific TimeZone, you should convert it.

Even though is technically possible, I would recommend alternative ways to get current time (or any other time), such as getdate that already considers local timezone before returning.

Answer 3

Yes, time is supposed to return UTC. If you want that converted to local time, you need a function like, ..., hmm, let me think, .., yes, that's it, localtime :-)

This will give you a more usable form with the individual fields broken out.

Follow those links above for the PHP doc on each. Not sure if PHP has the gmtime equivalent.

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And, as an aside, be very careful searching the web for the time manpage with man time - you may not get what you expect. You certainly won't get what you expect if you're looking for the manpage for man itself: man man.

That is, unless you're looking for different things than I was :-)

Answer 4

Check the return value of date_default_timezone_get() to see what the default time zone is. The link also lists the ways you can change the value, the preferred being by setting date.timezone in php.ini.