What is the significance of using a Unix timestamp when formatting dates in PHP?

Using a Unix timestamp when formatting dates in PHP is significant because it represents the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970. This allows for easy manipulation and conversion of dates in PHP, as Unix timestamps can be easily converted to different date formats using built-in PHP functions.

// Get the current Unix timestamp
$timestamp = time();

// Format the Unix timestamp into a readable date format
$date = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $timestamp);

echo $date;