What is the best way to calculate the difference between two date values in PHP?

When calculating the difference between two date values in PHP, it is best to use the DateTime class along with the diff method. This method allows you to easily calculate the difference between two DateTime objects and retrieve the result in a specific format, such as days, months, or years.

$date1 = new DateTime('2021-01-01');
$date2 = new DateTime('2021-12-31');

$interval = $date1->diff($date2);
echo $interval->format('%R%a days');