[RESOLVED] Returning accurate Time

hpicken

Hi folks

I have a line in a header page that is SUPPOSED to return the current server time.

$entrytime = date('H:m',time());

The server time is accurate and updated through NTP.

The problem is that is seems to read the time but only updates it even 1/2 hour or so. Not exactly 1/2 hr but random times.

i.e. at 12:07 it returns 12:07 but 15 mins later it still returns 12:07 no matter how many times I refresh the page (and reload the header).

If I leave it for an hour or so (say 13:45) it might return 13:32.

I have even tried unsetting the variable at the top of the header page.

Ideas please.

jorgepinho

Hi,

If you use diferent file names, like: test1.php, test2.php, test3.php, etc... do you get the correct time ?

hpicken

I have the same header.inc file included for each page

<?php
require_once 'utils.inc'; // some sitewide defaults
unset($entrydate);
unset($entrytime);
$menu = array();
$menu['events'] = 'Events';

.......

$entrydate = date('d/m/Y');
$entrytime = date('H:m');
?>

Any page one goes too on the side this header.inc file gets called.

hpicken

Sorry the require_once line has only just been added and I have the same problem with reuire and require_once.

Thanks

hpicken

I've been playing today to try to narrow down what's happening.

Basically if I use the time() function I get (95% of the time) 7 minutes past the hour.

So at 14:00 it returns 14:07 until 15:00 then it returns 15:07.

I've created a plain page with the following

<?php
$showtime = 0;

$showtime = date("H:m", time());
echo $showtime;
?>

Everytime I refresh this page the time behaves as described above. As I type this I refresh it again. My MS computer shows 14:53 and my unix server shows 14:53 but this function returns 14:07.

😕

bradgrafelman

This code:

<?php
$showtime = 0; 
$showtime = date("H:m", time());
echo $showtime;
?>

is asking PHP to output the "24-hour format of an hour with leading zeros", followed by a colon, followed by the "Numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros."

So yes, the ':07' seems to be as expected (given that it's currently July as I'm typing this).

EDIT: Also note that you could remove the superfluous call to time() since PHP's [man]date/man function will automatically assume the current time if no second parameter is passed.

hpicken

DOH! Why didn't I see that...

Thanks bradgrafelman

Think I'll go and kick the side of the shed.

Derokorian

If it makes you feel better, i've been reading this thread for 3 or 4 days and I didn't notice it!

cretaceous

great thread!
shows how easily we can bamboozle ourselves
(I was looking at H:m thinking "I use h:i ... oh well, what of it, read on..")
I bet the shed has a nice timestamped hole in it