Are there any built-in PHP functions that can handle comparing dates with special cases, such as dates with missing or incorrect parts?

When comparing dates in PHP, it is important to ensure that the dates are in a valid format to avoid errors. If you have dates with missing or incorrect parts, you can use the `DateTime` class along with `DateTime::createFromFormat()` to handle such cases. This allows you to create DateTime objects from custom formats and then compare them using the `DateTime` methods.

$date1 = DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', '2022-01-15');
$date2 = DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', '2022-01');

if ($date1 && $date2) {
    if ($date1 > $date2) {
        echo 'Date 1 is later than Date 2';
    } elseif ($date1 < $date2) {
        echo 'Date 1 is earlier than Date 2';
    } else {
        echo 'Date 1 is equal to Date 2';
    }
} else {
    echo 'Invalid date format';
}