What are the potential issues with using the date() function in PHP for parsing specific date formats?

When using the date() function in PHP for parsing specific date formats, one potential issue is that it may not be able to handle all date formats accurately. To solve this issue, you can utilize the DateTime class in PHP, which provides more flexibility and control over date parsing.

$dateString = "2022-12-31";
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', $dateString);
echo $date->format('Y-m-d');