What are the common pitfalls when using TIMESTAMP vs DATETIME formats in PHP and MySQL databases?

Common pitfalls when using TIMESTAMP vs DATETIME formats in PHP and MySQL databases include differences in how they handle time zones and automatic updating. To ensure consistency, it's recommended to use DATETIME for storing specific points in time and TIMESTAMP for tracking changes to records. When retrieving data, make sure to handle time zone conversions appropriately.

// Example of retrieving data from a DATETIME field and handling time zone conversion
$datetime = new DateTime($row['datetime_field']);
$datetime->setTimezone(new DateTimeZone('America/New_York'));
echo $datetime->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');