php convert datetime to UTC

Question

I am in need of an easy way to convert a date time stamp to UTC (from whatever timezone the server is in) HOPEFULLY without using any libraries.

Answer 1

I sometime use this method:

// It is not importnat what timezone your system is set to.
// Get the UTC offset in seconds:
$offset = date("Z");

// Then subtract if from your original timestamp:
$utc_time = date("Y-m-d H:i:s", strtotime($original_time." -".$offset." Seconds"));

Works all MOST of the time.