What are some best practices for handling date calculations and storage in PHP applications to ensure accurate results and efficient coding?

Issue: When working with date calculations and storage in PHP applications, it is important to use proper date functions and formats to ensure accurate results and efficient coding. One best practice is to always store dates in a standardized format, such as YYYY-MM-DD, to avoid any confusion or errors. Additionally, using PHP's built-in date and time functions can help simplify date calculations and ensure consistency across different parts of the application.

// Store dates in a standardized format (YYYY-MM-DD)
$date = '2022-05-15';

// Use PHP's date functions for date calculations
$nextWeek = date('Y-m-d', strtotime('+1 week', strtotime($date)));

echo $nextWeek; // Output: 2022-05-22