What best practices should be followed when handling datetime values in PHP and MySQL interactions?
When handling datetime values in PHP and MySQL interactions, it is essential to ensure that both systems are using the same timezone to prevent inconsistencies. It is recommended to store datetime values in UTC format in the database and convert them to the desired timezone when displaying them to users.
// Set the default timezone to UTC
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
// Get the current datetime in UTC
$currentDateTime = date('Y-m-d H:i:s');
// Connect to MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');
// Insert datetime value in UTC format
$query = "INSERT INTO table_name (datetime_column) VALUES ('$currentDateTime')";
$mysqli->query($query);