Getting correct time based on timezoneid using PHP

Question

I'm trying to use the accurate current local time for any location in the world based on their "TimezoneId". Somestimes I'm getting the correct GMT offset. For example:

$localTimezone = new DateTimeZone('America/Los_Angeles');
$gmtTimezone = new DateTimeZone('GMT');
$currentDateTime = new DateTime('2020-01-21 13:14', $gmtTimezone);
$offset = $localTimezone ->getOffset($currentDateTime );
echo $offset/3600;

This returns -8 which is correct for today's date in Los Angeles.

However, when I try the same using America/Sao_Paulo as the "TimezoneId" I get -2 which is currently not correct for this location. It should be -3 according to Google and other time apps I have tried.

I've searched for a solution and seen different attemps which don't seem to be working me.

Thank you for your input!

You probably have to update your timezone database. Sao Paulo used to observe DST (-2), but it no longer does. — aynber, Jan 21 '20 at 13:48
@aynber how do i update the timezone database? I only have the values of the timezoneids not the offset itself — James, Jan 21 '20 at 14:05
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3564478/how-to-update-timezonedb-in-php-updating-timezones-info — aynber, Jan 21 '20 at 14:12

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 21 '20 at 13:48

3

According to timeanddate.com Brazil stopped observing DST on 17 February 2019. To get that reflected in your application you need a PHP release that includes a version of the IANA Time Zone Database updated after whenever the announcement was made. I've run your code in 3v4l.org and got 7.3.9 - 7.4.1.

answered Jan 21 '20 at 13:48

Álvaro González

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So are you suggesting this depends on the version of PHP I'm using? – James Jan 21 '20 at 14:17
1

Not exactly. It depends on the IANA Time Zone Database used by your PHP installation. Typically, it'll use the one bundled by PHP creators but I presume that third-party packagers (such as Linux distros) can include a different version. – Álvaro González Jan 21 '20 at 14:19
Thanks for the info @Alvaro – James Jan 21 '20 at 14:25

Getting correct time based on timezoneid using PHP

1 Answers1