How to create a DateInterval from a time string

Question

If I have a time format string like \"14:30:00\" (\"hours:minutes:seconds\"), how do I get a DateInterval from the string?

I can get a DateTime:

Answer 1

If you want an interval that is 14 hours and 30 minutes, simply use the constructor...

$interval = new DateInterval('PT14H30M');

To break it down...

• P - all interval spec strings must start with P (for Period). We aren't using any period intervals though so on to...
• T - this starts the Time spec
• 14H - 14 hours
• 30M - 30 minutes

If you must use the string 14:30:00, I'd parse it with sscanf and use the parts...

list($hours, $minutes, $seconds) = sscanf('14:30:00', '%d:%d:%d');
$interval = new DateInterval(sprintf('PT%dH%dM%dS', $hours, $minutes, $seconds));