What are the best practices for storing and checking timestamps in a database for user name blocking in PHP?
When storing timestamps in a database for user name blocking in PHP, it is important to use the appropriate data type (such as DATETIME) to ensure accurate storage and retrieval of timestamps. Additionally, when checking timestamps, make sure to compare them using the appropriate PHP functions (such as strtotime) to accurately determine if a certain amount of time has passed since the timestamp was created.
// Storing timestamp in database
$timestamp = date('Y-m-d H:i:s');
$query = "INSERT INTO blocked_users (username, blocked_at) VALUES ('$username', '$timestamp')";
// Execute query to store timestamp in database
// Checking timestamp
$block_duration = 86400; // 24 hours in seconds
$blocked_user = "user123";
$query = "SELECT blocked_at FROM blocked_users WHERE username = '$blocked_user'";
// Execute query to retrieve timestamp from database
$blocked_at = strtotime($row['blocked_at']);
$current_time = time();
if (($current_time - $blocked_at) < $block_duration) {
echo "User is still blocked.";
} else {
echo "User is no longer blocked.";
}