What are common pitfalls when trying to compare dates using PHP's NOW() function?

When comparing dates using PHP's NOW() function, a common pitfall is that NOW() returns the current date and time in the format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS", which may not be directly comparable to other date formats. To compare dates accurately, it's recommended to use PHP's date() function to format the dates in a consistent manner before comparing them. 

// Example code snippet to compare dates using PHP's NOW() function
$currentDate = date("Y-m-d H:i:s"); // Get the current date and time in the same format as NOW()
$otherDate = "2022-12-31 23:59:59"; // Example date to compare with

if ($currentDate > $otherDate) {
    echo "The current date is after the other date.";
} elseif ($currentDate < $otherDate) {
    echo "The current date is before the other date.";
} else {
    echo "The current date is the same as the other date.";
}

Keywords

PHP NOW() function date comparison timezone formatting

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