30.07.2026 | Michael Ebert

Formatting Dates programmatically with the Drupal date formatter service

Example for a single datetime field

my_single_datetime_field.php
use Drupal\Core\Datetime\DrupalDateTime;

/** @var Drupal\Core\Datetime\DateFormatterInterface $date_formatter */
$date_formatter = \Drupal::service('date.formatter');

// Get DateTime object from stored date from a DateTimeFieldItemList field.
$my_date = $node->field_my_date->date;

// Get unix timestamp.
$my_date_timestamp = $my_date->getTimestamp();

// For formatting your DateTime object all other arguments are optional:
// See DateFormatterInterface for built-in options, or use machine name of a date format in config.
$type = 'medium';
// Custom PHP date format if $type="custom".
$format = '';

$formatted = $date_formatter->format($my_date_timestamp, $type, $format, $timezone = NULL, $langcode = NULL);

 

Example for a daterange field

my_datetime_range_field.php
use Drupal\Core\Datetime\DrupalDateTime;

/** @var Drupal\Core\Datetime\DateFormatterInterface $date_formatter */
$date_formatter = \Drupal::service('date.formatter');

// Get DateTime objects from stored date from a DateTimeFieldItemList field.
$start_date = $node->field_my_date->start_date;
$end_date = $node->field_my_date->end_date;

// For formatting your DateTime object all other arguments are optional:
// See DateFormatterInterface for built-in options, or use machine name of a date format in config.
$type = 'medium';
// Custom PHP date format if $type="custom".
$format = '';

$start_date_formatted = $date_formatter->format($start_date, $type, $format, $timezone = NULL, $langcode = NULL);
$end_date_formatted = $date_formatter->format($end_date, $type, $format, $timezone = NULL, $langcode = NULL);

Issue:

You need to format datetime objects before printing them.

Solution:

The Drupal date formatter service will be your friend. If you have enabled the datetime and/or datetime_range Core modules, you can set it to a defined date format (/admin/config/regional/date-time) or use a custom one. Details about the parameters you can use can be found on php.net.

We recommend always choosing the Drupal solution instead of a custom solution whenever possible.

php
time and date
services

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Weitere DevBits

10.09.2026 | Lothar Ferreira Neumann

How to delete an ECA model that throws PluginNotFoundException for a missing event/action plugin

ECA.php
// web/modules/contrib/eca/src/Entity/Eca.php (simplified excerpt)

protected function isValidationDisabled(): bool {
  return $this->request()->query->get('eca_validation', '') === 'off';
}

public function getPluginCollections(): array {
  if ($this->isValidationDisabled()) {
    return [];
  }
  // Otherwise every referenced event/condition/action plugin is
  // instantiated here, throwing PluginNotFoundException if one
  // of them no longer exists.
  ...
}
hint.txt
# Delete URL — load this directly, don't click through from a listing page
/admin/config/workflow/eca/{eca_id}/delete?eca_validation=off
php
txt
eca
plugins
error handling
21.11.2025 | Peter Majmesku

PHP 8.5 New Features: Pipe Operator and URI Extension

The New URI Extension

php_8.5_examples_uri_extension.php
<?php

##### URI Extension #####

// PHP 8.4 way

$components = parse_url('https://php.net/releases/8.4/en.php');

var_dump($components['host']);
// string(7) "php.net"

// PHP 8.5 URI Extension

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$uri = new Uri('https://php.net/releases/8.5/en.php');

var_dump($uri->getHost());
// string(7) "php.net"

The New Pipe Operator

php_8.5_pipe_operator.php
<?php

##### Pipe Operator #####

// PHP 8.4 way

$title = ' PHP 8.5 Released ';

$slug = strtolower(
    str_replace('.', '',
        str_replace(' ', '-',
            trim($title)
        )
    )
);

var_dump($slug);
// string(15) "php-85-released"

// PHP 8.5 Pipe Operator 

$title = ' PHP 8.5 Released ';

$slug = $title
    |> trim(...)
    |> (fn($str) => str_replace(' ', '-', $str))
    |> (fn($str) => str_replace('.', '', $str))
    |> strtolower(...);

var_dump($slug);
// string(15) "php-85-released"
php