Convert seconds to hours-minutes-seconds in PHP

This article demonstrates how to convert seconds into hours-minutes-seconds in PHP.

1. Using `gmdate()` function

With the gmdate() function, you can easily split the given seconds into hour-minute-second intervals. It takes the format of the outputted date string and the optional timestamp parameter, in that order. The idea is to pass the format H:i:s in the date string parameter and the number of seconds in the timestamp parameter.

<?php

$seconds = 3675;

echo gmdate("H:i:s", $seconds); // 01:01:15

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Here, H represents the hours in 24-hour format (00 through 23), i represents the minutes (00 to 59), and s represents the seconds (00 through 59), all with leading zeros. However, this only works if the number of seconds is less than 86400, i.e., 1 day (60 x 60 x 24).

2. Using `DateTime::diff()` function

The idea is to construct a DateTime object using localized notations, with "@" representing the Unix timestamp, and get its difference with Epoch time using the DateTime::diff() function. Then you can extract the number of hours, minutes, and seconds information from the resultant DateInterval object using its h, i, and s properties, respectively.

<?php

$seconds = 43675;

$start = new DateTime("@0");

$end = new DateTime("@$seconds");

$interval = $start->diff($end);

$H = $interval->days * 24 + $interval->h;

$i = $interval->i;

$s = $interval->s;

echo sprintf("%02d:%02d:%02d", $H, $i, $s); // 12:07:55

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A simple mathematical calculation can also be used to divide the given seconds into hour-minute-second intervals, as shown below:

<?php

$seconds = 43675;

$H = floor($seconds / 3600);

$i = floor(($seconds / 60) % 60);

$s = $seconds % 60;

echo sprintf("%02d:%02d:%02d", $H, $i, $s); // 12:07:55

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That’s all there is to converting seconds in PHP to hour-minute-second.

Convert seconds to hours-minutes-seconds in PHP

1. Using gmdate() function

2. Using DateTime::diff() function

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1. Using `gmdate()` function

2. Using `DateTime::diff()` function