How can PHP developers effectively handle arithmetic operations involving time values?

When handling arithmetic operations involving time values in PHP, developers should convert the time values to Unix timestamps, perform the arithmetic operations, and then convert the result back to the desired time format. This approach ensures accurate calculations and avoids common pitfalls like time zone discrepancies or daylight saving time adjustments.

// Convert time values to Unix timestamps
$time1 = strtotime('10:00:00');
$time2 = strtotime('11:30:00');

// Perform arithmetic operations
$diff = $time2 - $time1;

// Convert the result back to the desired time format
$result = date('H:i:s', $diff);

echo $result; // Output: 01:30:00