# DateTime

Using PHP's built in date time objects may become cumbersome as developers must handle edge cases with daylight savings time and timezone conversions. Siteadmin 3 offers a custom `sa\application\DateTime` object which synchronizes all timestamps in the application.

> The custom `datetime` object will automatically convert your timestamps to UTC before persisting them to storage. When querying the timestamps from data storage, they will be converted back to the original timezone.

### Basic Usage

#### Create a DateTime

```php
<?php
use sa\application\DateTime;
​
// DateTime will use the application's timezone by default
$date = new DateTime('now');
​
// Override default timezone
new DateTime('now', new \DateTimeZone('America/New_York'));
```

#### Storing DateTimes

Siteadmin's `DateTime` implementation can be used just like PHP's build-in object. Timezone differences and daylight savings time are handled behind the scenes.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.siteadministrator.com/developer-guide/utilities-and-helpers/datetime.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.