Are there any specific PHP functions or classes recommended for handling date and time comparisons in this scenario?

When handling date and time comparisons in PHP, the DateTime class is highly recommended for its flexibility and ease of use. By creating DateTime objects for the dates and times you need to compare, you can easily calculate intervals, differences, and perform various comparisons.

// Create DateTime objects for the two dates you want to compare
$date1 = new DateTime('2022-01-01');
$date2 = new DateTime('2022-02-01');

// Compare the two dates
if ($date1 < $date2) {
    echo "Date 1 is before Date 2";
} elseif ($date1 > $date2) {
    echo "Date 1 is after Date 2";
} else {
    echo "Date 1 is the same as Date 2";
}