PHP | date_sunset() Function

Hello folks! welcome back to a new edition of our tutorial on PHP. In this tutorial guide, we are going to be studying about the PHP date_sunset() Function.

The PHP date_sunset() function accepts a timestamp representing the given day and returns the sunset time on that particular day.

Syntax

Following below is the syntax to use this function -

date_sunset($timestamp, [$format, $latitude, $longitude, $zenith, $gmtoffset])

READ: PHP | date_sunrise() Function

Parameter Details

Sr.No	Parameter & Description
1	timestamp (Mandatory) This specifies a timestamp.
2	format (Optional) This specifies the format in which you need the resultant value in. You can pass three constants as the value of this parameter namely; SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING (string), SUNFUNCS_RET_DOUBLE (float) and, SUNFUNCS_RET_TIMESTAMP integer.
3	latitude (Optional) This specifies latitude of a location by default, this specifies the North direction. To specify a latitude value in south you need to pass it as a negative value.
4	longitude (Optional) This specifies longitude of a location by default, this specifies the East direction. To specify a latitude value in West you need to pass it as a negative value.
5	zenith (Optional) This specifies zenith value. This specifies the angle between the line perpendicular to the earth's surface and the centre of the sun.
6	gmtoffset (Optional) This specifies the difference between GMT and local time in hours.

Return Value

This function returns the time of the sunset in a desired format. Incase of a failure, this function returns FALSE.

PHP Version

This function was first introduced as part of core PHP v 5.0 and, it works with all the later versions.

Example1

Following example illustrates the usage of the PHP date_sunset() function -

<?php
   $sun_info = date_sunset("02-17-2012");
   print_r($sun_info);
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

14:46

Example2

Now let us invoke this built-in PHP function by passing the latitude/longitude values. If you intend in passing the latitude/longitude values, it is compulsory to pass the value of the required format too -

<?php
   $sun_info = date_sunset("02-03-2020",SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING, 23.4, -25);
   print_r("Sunset Time: ".$sun_info);
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

Sunset Time: 19:05

Example3

The following example verifies the case of no sunset -

<?php
   $sun_info = date_sunset("25-12-2016",SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING, 69, 41);
   print("Sunset Time: ".$sun_info);
   print("\n");
   var_dump($sun_info);
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

Sunset Time:
bool(false)

Example4

Try the following example -

<?php
   echo("Date: " . date("D M d Y"));
   echo("\n");
   echo("Sunset time: ");
   echo(date_sunset(time(),SUNFUNCS_RET_STRING,38.4,-9,90,1));
?>

Output

When the above code is executed, it will produce the following result -

Date: Thu May 07 2020
Sunset time: 20:30

READ: PHP | date_sun_info() Function

Alright guys! This is where we are going to be rounding up for this tutorial post. In our next tutorial, we are going to be discussing about the PHP date_time_set() Function.

Do feel free to ask your questions where necessary and we will attend to them as soon as possible. If this tutorial was helpful to you, you can use the share button to share this tutorial.

Follow us on our various social media platforms to stay updated with our latest tutorials. You can also subscribe to our newsletter in order to get our tutorials delivered directly to your emails.

Thanks for reading and bye for now.