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How to convert timestamp to time ago in PHP ?

Last Updated : 10 Jan, 2019
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Given a time and the task is to convert timestamp to time ago. The time ago format removes the problem of different time zones conversions. Given below is a function to do the time conversions. In this function, taking the timestamp as an input and then subtract it from the current timestamp to convert it into the time ago format. To make this function, need to define some rules which determine the year, month, date, minutes etc from the remaining date after subtraction.

Example 1:




<?php
// PHP program to convert timestamp
// to time ago
  
function time_Ago($time) {
  
    // Calculate difference between current
    // time and given timestamp in seconds
    $diff     = time() - $time;
      
    // Time difference in seconds
    $sec     = $diff;
      
    // Convert time difference in minutes
    $min     = round($diff / 60 );
      
    // Convert time difference in hours
    $hrs     = round($diff / 3600);
      
    // Convert time difference in days
    $days     = round($diff / 86400 );
      
    // Convert time difference in weeks
    $weeks     = round($diff / 604800);
      
    // Convert time difference in months
    $mnths     = round($diff / 2600640 );
      
    // Convert time difference in years
    $yrs     = round($diff / 31207680 );
      
    // Check for seconds
    if($sec <= 60) {
        echo "$sec seconds ago";
    }
      
    // Check for minutes
    else if($min <= 60) {
        if($min==1) {
            echo "one minute ago";
        }
        else {
            echo "$min minutes ago";
        }
    }
      
    // Check for hours
    else if($hrs <= 24) {
        if($hrs == 1) { 
            echo "an hour ago";
        }
        else {
            echo "$hrs hours ago";
        }
    }
      
    // Check for days
    else if($days <= 7) {
        if($days == 1) {
            echo "Yesterday";
        }
        else {
            echo "$days days ago";
        }
    }
      
    // Check for weeks
    else if($weeks <= 4.3) {
        if($weeks == 1) {
            echo "a week ago";
        }
        else {
            echo "$weeks weeks ago";
        }
    }
      
    // Check for months
    else if($mnths <= 12) {
        if($mnths == 1) {
            echo "a month ago";
        }
        else {
            echo "$mnths months ago";
        }
    }
      
    // Check for years
    else {
        if($yrs == 1) {
            echo "one year ago";
        }
        else {
            echo "$yrs years ago";
        }
    }
}
  
// Initialize current time
$curr_time = "2013-07-10 09:09:09";
  
// The strtotime() function converts
// English textual date-time
// description to a UNIX timestamp.
$time_ago = strtotime($curr_time);
  
// Display the time ago
echo time_Ago($time_ago) . "\n";
  
  
// Initialize current time
$curr_time="2019-01-05 09:09:09";
  
// The strtotime() function converts
// English textual date-time
// description to a UNIX timestamp.
$time_ago =strtotime($curr_time);
  
// Display the time ago
echo time_Ago($time_ago);
?>


Output:

6 years ago
5 days ago

Example 2:




<?php
// PHP program to convert timestamp
// to time ago
  
function to_time_ago( $time ) {
      
    // Calculate difference between current
    // time and given timestamp in seconds
    $diff = time() - $time;
      
    if( $diff < 1 ) { 
        return 'less than 1 second ago'
    }
      
    $time_rules = array
                12 * 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 => 'year',
                30 * 24 * 60 * 60       => 'month',
                24 * 60 * 60           => 'day',
                60 * 60                   => 'hour',
                60                       => 'minute',
                1                       => 'second'
    );
  
    foreach( $time_rules as $secs => $str ) {
          
        $div = $diff / $secs;
  
        if( $div >= 1 ) {
              
            $t = round( $div );
              
            return $t . ' ' . $str
                ( $t > 1 ? 's' : '' ) . ' ago';
        }
    }
}
  
// to_time_ago() function call
echo to_time_ago( time() - 5);
  
?>


Output:

5 seconds ago


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