Comparing objects of DateTime in php is not working

Question

I am making an API in which I need to check the token validity for a particular user and for that I am using DateTime function of php. I am saving a token and current time on login and I want token to be valid for 10 minutes, so when a user makes a request within first 10 minutes of its login I want to update the time validity of token.

$currentTime = new DateTime();
$curTime = $currentTime->format("Y-m-d H:i:s");
$time10MinutesAgo = new DateTime("10 minutes ago");
$time10Minutes = $time10MinutesAgo->format("Y-m-d H:i:s");
$token_time = $query1_r['token_time']; // value is stored in the db(mysql)
if (($curTime > $token_time) && ($token_time >= $time10Minutes)){}

first I was unable to pass the second condition but now even my page is not working.

$curTime and $token_time and $time10Minutes are strings, and not DateTime objects. — u_mulder
– u_mulder, Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 7:10
@u_mulder why comparing $time10MInuteAgo and $token_time is creating a problem ? — Prakhar Sharma
– Prakhar Sharma, Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 7:29
@u_mulder ($curTime > $token_time) this condition is working fine and ($token_time >= $time10Minutes) this condition is not working. — Prakhar Sharma
– Prakhar Sharma, Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 7:36

Andrew Schultz · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-18 07:27:57Z

2

Use epoch time values for time comparisons it's much easier to compare numbers instead of dates.

$currentTime = time();
$time10MinutesAgo = strtotime('-10 minutes');
$token_time = strtotime($query1_r['token_time']); // value is stored in the db(mysql)
if(($currentTime >$token_time) && ($token_time >= $time10MinutesAgo )){}

edited Mar 18, 2018 at 7:27

answered Mar 18, 2018 at 7:19

Andrew Schultz

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3 Comments

Prakhar Sharma Over a year ago

Actually I was Date function before and was converting them to timestamp but that process was taking more time, plus my main concern is why comparing $time10MInuteAgo and $token_time is creating a problem ?

Andrew Schultz Over a year ago

@PrakharSharma I wouldn't ever use string comparisons for time, much easier with integer comparisons with epoch formatting.

Andrew Schultz Over a year ago

@PrakharSharma you're welcome, please accept my answer :)

Glavić · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-21 08:44:22Z

1

If you already have DateTime object, don't convert them to strings, just compare objects between each other, like this:

$currentTime = new DateTime();
$time10MinutesAgo = new DateTime("10 minutes ago");
$tokenTime = new DateTime($query1_r['token_time']);

if ($time10MinutesAgo <= $tokenTime && $tokenTime <= $currentTime) {
    echo "Token time is between now and now-10 minutes.";
}

demo

answered Mar 21, 2018 at 8:44

Glavić

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