How to convert date to timestamp in PHP?

Question

How do I get timestamp from e.g. 22-09-2008?

Answer 1

Be careful with functions like strtotime() that try to "guess" what you mean (it doesn't guess of course, the rules are here).

Indeed 22-09-2008 will be parsed as 22 September 2008, as it is the only reasonable thing.

How will 08-09-2008 be parsed? Probably 09 August 2008.

What about 2008-09-50? Some versions of PHP parse this as 20 October 2008.

So, if you are sure your input is in DD-MM-YYYY format, it's better to use the solution offered by @Armin Ronacher.