How can relative dates be compared in PHP to ensure accurate time comparisons within a specified range?

When comparing relative dates in PHP, it's important to convert them to a common format, such as UNIX timestamps, before performing comparisons. This ensures accurate time comparisons within a specified range. By converting relative dates to timestamps, you can easily compare them using built-in PHP functions like strtotime() and time().

$date1 = strtotime('2022-01-01');
$date2 = strtotime('2022-01-15');

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 equal to Date 2";
}