PHP DateTime - setDate() Method

The PHP DateTime::setDate() method sets the date of a DateTime object. The date_date_set() function is an alias of this method.

Syntax

//Object-oriented style
public DateTime::setDate(year, month, day)

//Procedural style
date_date_set(object, year, month, day)

Parameters

`object`	`Required.` For procedural style only: A DateTime object returned by date_create().
`year`	`Required.` Specify an integer value representing year of the date.
`month`	`Required.` Specify an integer value representing month of the date.
`day`	`Required.` Specify an integer value representing day of the date.

Return Value

Returns the DateTime object with modified date on success, otherwise returns false.

Example: using both styles

The example below shows the usage of DateTime::setDate() method.

<?php
  //creating a DateTime object
  $date = new DateTime();

  //setting date using Object-oriented style
  $date->setDate(2015, 10, 25); 

  //formatting the datetime to print it
  echo $date->format("d-M-Y")."\n";

  //setting date using Procedural style
  date_date_set($date, 2018, 12, 18); 

  //formatting the datetime to print it
  echo $date->format("d-M-Y")."\n";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

25-Oct-2015
18-Dec-2018

Example: Modifying date of a DateTime object

This method can be used to modify date of the DateTime object to a new value. Consider the example below:

<?php
  //datetime string
  $datetime_string = "14-May-2015";

  //creating a DateTime object
  $date = new DateTime($datetime_string);

  //formatting the datetime to print it
  echo "Original date: ".$date->format("d-M-Y")."\n";

  //setting date to a new value
  $date->setDate(2016, 10, 18); 

  //formatting the datetime to print it
  echo "Modified date: ".$date->format("d-M-Y")."\n";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Original date: 14-May-2015
Modified date: 18-Oct-2016

Example: Adding values exceeding ranges

When values exceeding ranges are passed to this method, they will be added to their parent values. Consider the example below:

<?php
  //creating a DateTime object
  $date = new DateTime();

  //setting date to a new value
  $date->setDate(2001, 1, 15);
  echo $date->format('d-M-Y') . "\n";

  //setting date with exceeding range of day -
  //exceeding days (2 days) will be added 
  $date->setDate(2001, 2, 30);
  echo $date->format('d-M-Y') . "\n";

  //setting date with exceeding range of month -
  //exceeding months (2 months) will be added
  $date->setDate(2001, 14, 3);
  echo $date->format('d-M-Y') . "\n";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

15-Jan-2001
02-Mar-2001
03-Feb-2002

❮ PHP Date and Time Reference