Check that string is valid date

Question

How can I check that my string is a valid date ("2018-01-01").

Is there a simple way, or do I need to do something like this:

if (Carbon::createFromFormat('YOUR DATE FORMAT', $stringVariable) !== false) {
    // valid date
}

Possible duplicate of [Correctly determine if date string is a valid date in that format](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19271381/correctly-determine-if-date-string-is-a-valid-date-in-that-format) — Gabriel Souto, Jan 05 '18 at 12:07
You should use DateTime class to check if this is valid date — Swatantra Kumar, Jan 05 '18 at 12:10
Is your date always in that format? Or are you trying to use arbitrary user input? — iainn, Jan 05 '18 at 12:16
I'm using a date picker so it should always be in that format. — Mick, Jan 05 '18 at 12:48

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Jan 05 '18 at 13:08

0

$timestamp  = strtotime($date);

return $timestamp ? $date  : null ;

edited Jan 05 '18 at 13:08

Funk Forty Niner

answered Jan 05 '18 at 12:25

Sunil Kumar Sain

Although it works for the format "2018-01-01", it is worth remembering that for other date formats the result is false. for example, the date "13/10/2018" in the format "d/m/Y" is a valid date, but with strtotime, the result is false. – Magno Alberto Oct 13 '18 at 12:44
1

@MagnoAlberto The format d/m/Y is NOT a valid date format. If the separator is a slash (/), then the American `m/d/y` is assumed; whereas if the separator is a dash (-) or a dot (.), then the European `d-m-y` format is assumed. – Stanley Umeanozie Jan 25 '19 at 17:32
be aware that a value of `$date = "first sat of July 2008";` would be considered a valid date https://www.php.net/manual/en/datetime.formats.php – nulll Sep 26 '22 at 07:15

1 Answers1