$this->load->helper('date');

:param	string	$timezone: Timezone
:returns:	UNIX timestamp
:rtype:	int

Returns the current time as a UNIX timestamp, referenced either to your server's
local time or any PHP supported timezone, based on the "time reference" setting
in your config file. If you do not intend to set your master time reference to
any other PHP supported timezone (which you'll typically do if you run a site
that lets each user set their own timezone settings) there is no benefit to using
this function over PHP's ``time()`` function.
::

	echo now('Australia/Victoria');

If a timezone is not provided, it will return ``time()`` based on the
**time_reference** setting.

:param	string	$datestr: Date string
:param	int	$time: UNIX timestamp
:returns:	MySQL-formatted date
:rtype:	string

This function is identical to PHP's `date() <https://secure.php.net/manual/en/function.date.php>`_
function, except that it lets you use MySQL style date codes, where each
code letter is preceded with a percent sign, e.g. `%Y %m %d`

The benefit of doing dates this way is that you don't have to worry
about escaping any characters that are not date codes, as you would
normally have to do with the ``date()`` function.

Example::

	$datestring = 'Year: %Y Month: %m Day: %d - %h:%i %a';
	$time = time();
	echo mdate($datestring, $time);

If a timestamp is not included in the second parameter the current time
will be used.

:param	int	$time: UNIX timestamp
:returns:	UNIX timestamp
:rtype:	int

Takes a UNIX timestamp as input and returns it as GMT.

Example::

	$gmt = local_to_gmt(time());

:param	int	$time: UNIX timestamp
:param	string	$timezone: Timezone
:param	bool	$dst: Whether DST is active
:returns:	UNIX timestamp
:rtype:	int

Takes a UNIX timestamp (referenced to GMT) as input, and converts it to
a localized timestamp based on the timezone and Daylight Saving Time
submitted.

Example::

	$timestamp = 1140153693;
	$timezone  = 'UM8';
	$daylight_saving = TRUE;
	echo gmt_to_local($timestamp, $timezone, $daylight_saving);


.. note:: For a list of timezones see the reference at the bottom of this page.

:param	string	$time: MySQL timestamp
:returns:	UNIX timestamp
:rtype:	int

Takes a MySQL Timestamp as input and returns it as a UNIX timestamp.

Example::

	$unix = mysql_to_unix('20061124092345');

:param	int	$time: UNIX timestamp
:param	bool	$seconds: Whether to show seconds
:param	string	$fmt: format (us or euro)
:returns:	Formatted date
:rtype:	string

Takes a UNIX timestamp as input and returns it in a human readable
format with this prototype::

	YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS AM/PM

This can be useful if you need to display a date in a form field for
submission.

The time can be formatted with or without seconds, and it can be set to
European or US format. If only the timestamp is submitted it will return
the time without seconds formatted for the U.S.

Examples::

	$now = time();
	echo unix_to_human($now); // U.S. time, no seconds
	echo unix_to_human($now, TRUE, 'us'); // U.S. time with seconds
	echo unix_to_human($now, TRUE, 'eu'); // Euro time with seconds

:param	int	$datestr: Date string
:returns:	UNIX timestamp or FALSE on failure
:rtype:	int

The opposite of the :php:func:`unix_to_time()` function. Takes a "human"
time as input and returns it as a UNIX timestamp. This is useful if you
accept "human" formatted dates submitted via a form. Returns boolean FALSE
date string passed to it is not formatted as indicated above.

Example::

	$now = time();
	$human = unix_to_human($now);
	$unix = human_to_unix($human);

:param	int	$seconds: Number of seconds
:param	string	$time: UNIX timestamp
:param	int	$units: Number of time units to display
:returns:	Formatted time difference
:rtype:	string

Formats a UNIX timestamp so that is appears similar to this::

	1 Year, 10 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 10 Hours, 16 Minutes

The first parameter must contain a UNIX timestamp.
The second parameter must contain a timestamp that is greater that the
first timestamp.
The thirdparameter is optional and limits the number of time units to display.

If the second parameter empty, the current time will be used.

The most common purpose for this function is to show how much time has
elapsed from some point in time in the past to now.

Example::

	$post_date = '1079621429';
	$now = time();
	$units = 2;
	echo timespan($post_date, $now, $units);

.. note:: The text generated by this function is found in the following language
	file: `language/<your_lang>/date_lang.php`

:param	int	$month: a numeric month
:param	int	$year: a numeric year
:returns:	Count of days in the specified month
:rtype:	int

Returns the number of days in a given month/year. Takes leap years into
account.

Example::

	echo days_in_month(06, 2005);

If the second parameter is empty, the current year will be used.

.. note:: This function will alias the native ``cal_days_in_month()``, if
	it is available.

:param	int	$unix_start: UNIX timestamp of the range start date
:param	int	$mixed: UNIX timestamp of the range end date or interval in days
:param	bool	$is_unix: set to FALSE if $mixed is not a timestamp
:param	string	$format: Output date format, same as in ``date()``
:returns:	An array of dates
:rtype:	array

Returns a list of dates within a specified period.

Example::

	$range = date_range('2012-01-01', '2012-01-15');
	echo "First 15 days of 2012:";
	foreach ($range as $date)
	{
		echo $date."\n";
	}

:param	string	$tz: A numeric timezone
:returns:	Hour difference from UTC
:rtype:	int

Takes a timezone reference (for a list of valid timezones, see the
"Timezone Reference" below) and returns the number of hours offset from
UTC.

Example::

	echo timezones('UM5');


This function is useful when used with :php:func:`timezone_menu()`.

:param	string	$default: Timezone
:param	string	$class: Class name
:param	string	$name: Menu name
:param	mixed	$attributes: HTML attributes
:returns:	HTML drop down menu with time zones
:rtype:	string

Generates a pull-down menu of timezones, like this one:

.. raw:: html

	<form action="#">
		<select name="timezones">
			<option value='UM12'>(UTC -12:00) Baker/Howland Island</option>
			<option value='UM11'>(UTC -11:00) Samoa Time Zone, Niue</option>
			<option value='UM10'>(UTC -10:00) Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, Cook Islands, Tahiti</option>
			<option value='UM95'>(UTC -9:30) Marquesas Islands</option>
			<option value='UM9'>(UTC -9:00) Alaska Standard Time, Gambier Islands</option>
			<option value='UM8'>(UTC -8:00) Pacific Standard Time, Clipperton Island</option>
			<option value='UM7'>(UTC -7:00) Mountain Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM6'>(UTC -6:00) Central Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM5'>(UTC -5:00) Eastern Standard Time, Western Caribbean Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM45'>(UTC -4:30) Venezuelan Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM4'>(UTC -4:00) Atlantic Standard Time, Eastern Caribbean Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM35'>(UTC -3:30) Newfoundland Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UM3'>(UTC -3:00) Argentina, Brazil, French Guiana, Uruguay</option>
			<option value='UM2'>(UTC -2:00) South Georgia/South Sandwich Islands</option>
			<option value='UM1'>(UTC -1:00) Azores, Cape Verde Islands</option>
			<option value='UTC' selected='selected'>(UTC) Greenwich Mean Time, Western European Time</option>
			<option value='UP1'>(UTC +1:00) Central European Time, West Africa Time</option>
			<option value='UP2'>(UTC +2:00) Central Africa Time, Eastern European Time, Kaliningrad Time</option>
			<option value='UP3'>(UTC +3:00) Moscow Time, East Africa Time</option>
			<option value='UP35'>(UTC +3:30) Iran Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UP4'>(UTC +4:00) Azerbaijan Standard Time, Samara Time</option>
			<option value='UP45'>(UTC +4:30) Afghanistan</option>
			<option value='UP5'>(UTC +5:00) Pakistan Standard Time, Yekaterinburg Time</option>
			<option value='UP55'>(UTC +5:30) Indian Standard Time, Sri Lanka Time</option>
			<option value='UP575'>(UTC +5:45) Nepal Time</option>
			<option value='UP6'>(UTC +6:00) Bangladesh Standard Time, Bhutan Time, Omsk Time</option>
			<option value='UP65'>(UTC +6:30) Cocos Islands, Myanmar</option>
			<option value='UP7'>(UTC +7:00) Krasnoyarsk Time, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam</option>
			<option value='UP8'>(UTC +8:00) Australian Western Standard Time, Beijing Time, Irkutsk Time</option>
			<option value='UP875'>(UTC +8:45) Australian Central Western Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UP9'>(UTC +9:00) Japan Standard Time, Korea Standard Time, Yakutsk Time</option>
			<option value='UP95'>(UTC +9:30) Australian Central Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UP10'>(UTC +10:00) Australian Eastern Standard Time, Vladivostok Time</option>
			<option value='UP105'>(UTC +10:30) Lord Howe Island</option>
			<option value='UP11'>(UTC +11:00) Srednekolymsk Time, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu</option>
			<option value='UP115'>(UTC +11:30) Norfolk Island</option>
			<option value='UP12'>(UTC +12:00) Fiji, Gilbert Islands, Kamchatka Time, New Zealand Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UP1275'>(UTC +12:45) Chatham Islands Standard Time</option>
			<option value='UP13'>(UTC +13:00) Phoenix Islands Time, Tonga</option>
			<option value='UP14'>(UTC +14:00) Line Islands</option>
		</select>
	</form>


This menu is useful if you run a membership site in which your users are
allowed to set their local timezone value.

The first parameter lets you set the "selected" state of the menu. For
example, to set Pacific time as the default you will do this::

	echo timezone_menu('UM8');

Please see the timezone reference below to see the values of this menu.

The second parameter lets you set a CSS class name for the menu.

The fourth parameter lets you set one or more attributes on the generated select tag.

.. note:: The text contained in the menu is found in the following
	language file: `language/<your_lang>/date_lang.php`