How can the PHP code for a date calculator be optimized for better efficiency and readability?

One way to optimize the PHP code for a date calculator is to use built-in functions for date manipulation and formatting, such as DateTime class. This can improve efficiency and readability of the code by reducing the number of manual calculations and conversions needed.

// Optimized PHP code for a date calculator using DateTime class

// Input dates
$date1 = new DateTime('2022-01-01');
$date2 = new DateTime('2022-12-31');

// Calculate the difference in days
$interval = $date1->diff($date2);
$daysDifference = $interval->days;

// Output the result
echo "The difference between the dates is: $daysDifference days";