In PHP, what are the benefits of combining date and time into a single DateTime column in a database table?

Combining date and time into a single DateTime column in a database table can simplify querying and manipulation of date and time data. It allows for easier sorting, filtering, and comparison operations without needing to handle separate date and time columns. Additionally, it can improve data integrity by ensuring that date and time values are always stored together.

// Example of creating a table with a single DateTime column in MySQL using PHP
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "myDB";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

// Create table with DateTime column
$sql = "CREATE TABLE events (
    id INT(6) UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    event_datetime DATETIME
)";

if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
    echo "Table created successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error creating table: " . $conn->error;
}

$conn->close();