Help with php and mysql with dates

lesleye

I would like to enter the date into my form as mm/dd/yyyy. Mysql does not recognize the date in that format. It will only recognize the format in yyyy-mm-dd.

How can I enter date in mm/dd/yyyy and also retrieve the date in the mm/dd/yyyy format?

_uk_stuff

I am unsure about the submitting of dates other than in the format specified within the my.cnf file of mysql.

For retrieving data in the format you require, just use the DATE_FORMAT command
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/date-and-time-functions.html#function_date-format

lesleye

The problem is my users want to enter the date as mm/dd/yyyy.

There must be a way to transfer the date to yyyy-mm-dd format prior to entering into the mysql database.

laserlight

One option is to provide three fields in the form, then combine them. Another option is to use PHP string manipulation (or regex) to change the format.

bradgrafelman

As laserlight suggests, the best way to avoid format problems with dates is to simply let them build the date in pieces; have a dropdown for the month, day, and year elements.

Alternatively, you can manipulate the data if you know for sure which format it's in. Simple example:

list($month, $day, $year) = explode('/', $_POST['date']);

lesleye

Thanks for the help. It is a little more code than I expected, but it worked. I appreciate the help!

Lesley

bradgrafelman

No problem. Don't forget to mark this thread resolved.