human_time_diff( int $from, int $to = 0 ): string
- Since
- 1.5.0, 5.3.0
- Source
wp-includes/formatting.php:3880
Description
The difference is returned in a human-readable format such as "1 hour", "5 minutes", "2 days".
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 5.3.0
- PHP
- 7.4–8.6-dev
- 6.7.7
- 6.8.8
- 6.9.7
- 7.0.4
- 7.1.0
Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.
Parameters
$fromint- Unix timestamp from which the difference begins.
$tointoptional- Unix timestamp to end the time difference. Default becomes time() if not set.Default:
0
Return value
string- Human-readable time difference.
Performance profile
How much work a call to human_time_diff() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Trivial
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 34–74
- Plugin surface
- 1 hook
- Called by
- 12
Touches nothing outside its own arguments.
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 184.
Third-party callbacks on 'human_time_diff' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.
12 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()called directly
Further down the call graph this can also reach query, option, cache, serialize and transient. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.
What one call costs · 6 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost human_time_diff() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
!empty($to) && $diff | 34–35 | abs(), _n(), sprintf(), apply_filters() |
empty($to) && $diff | 37–38 | time(), abs(), _n(), sprintf(), apply_filters() |
!empty($to) && !$diff | 38–53 | abs(), apply_filters() |
empty($to) && !$diff | 41–56 | time(), abs(), apply_filters() |
!empty($to) | 44–71 | abs(), round(), _n(), sprintf(), apply_filters() |
empty($to) | 47–74 | time(), abs(), round(), _n(), sprintf(), apply_filters() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 184 instructions, 34–74 executed per call, 20 branches. The work does not change between versions.
An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.
Hooks and filters fired · 1
One hook fires while human_time_diff() runs, in this order:
- apply_filters( human_time_diff )filterline 3948 (+68 into the body)
Filters the human-readable difference between two timestamps.
Uses · 2
- _n()Translates and retrieves the singular or plural form based on the supplied number.
- apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
Used by · 12
- WP_Media_List_Table::column_date()Handles the date column output.
- WP_Plugin_Install_List_Table::display_rows()Generates the list table rows.
- WP_Privacy_Requests_Table::get_timestamp_as_date()Converts a timestamp for display.
- WP_REST_Block_Directory_Controller::prepare_item_for_response()Parse block metadata for a block, and prepare it for an API response.
- WP_Recovery_Mode_Email_Service::maybe_send_recovery_mode_email()Sends the recovery mode email if the rate limit has not been sent.
- WP_Recovery_Mode_Email_Service::send_recovery_mode_email()Sends the Recovery Mode email to the site admin email address.
- install_plugin_information()Displays plugin information in dialog box form.
- render_block_core_comment_date()Renders the `core/comment-date` block on the server.
- render_block_core_post_date()Renders the `core/post-date` block on the server.
- wp_get_auto_update_message()Determines the appropriate auto-update message to be displayed.
- wp_post_revision_title_expanded()Retrieves formatted date timestamp of a revision (linked to that revisions's page).
- wp_prepare_revisions_for_js()Prepare revisions for JavaScript.
Source code
function human_time_diff( $from, $to = 0 ) { if ( empty( $to ) ) { $to = time(); } $diff = (int) abs( $to - $from ); if ( $diff < MINUTE_IN_SECONDS ) { $secs = $diff; if ( $secs <= 1 ) { $secs = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in seconds. %s: Number of seconds. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s second', '%s seconds', $secs ), $secs ); } elseif ( $diff < HOUR_IN_SECONDS && $diff >= MINUTE_IN_SECONDS ) { $mins = round( $diff / MINUTE_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $mins <= 1 ) { $mins = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in minutes. %s: Number of minutes. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s minute', '%s minutes', $mins ), $mins ); } elseif ( $diff < DAY_IN_SECONDS && $diff >= HOUR_IN_SECONDS ) { $hours = round( $diff / HOUR_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $hours <= 1 ) { $hours = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in hours. %s: Number of hours. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s hour', '%s hours', $hours ), $hours ); } elseif ( $diff < WEEK_IN_SECONDS && $diff >= DAY_IN_SECONDS ) { $days = round( $diff / DAY_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $days <= 1 ) { $days = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in days. %s: Number of days. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s day', '%s days', $days ), $days ); } elseif ( $diff < MONTH_IN_SECONDS && $diff >= WEEK_IN_SECONDS ) { $weeks = round( $diff / WEEK_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $weeks <= 1 ) { $weeks = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in weeks. %s: Number of weeks. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s week', '%s weeks', $weeks ), $weeks ); } elseif ( $diff < YEAR_IN_SECONDS && $diff >= MONTH_IN_SECONDS ) { $months = round( $diff / MONTH_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $months <= 1 ) { $months = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in months. %s: Number of months. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s month', '%s months', $months ), $months ); } elseif ( $diff >= YEAR_IN_SECONDS ) { $years = round( $diff / YEAR_IN_SECONDS ); if ( $years <= 1 ) { $years = 1; } /* translators: Time difference between two dates, in years. %s: Number of years. */ $since = sprintf( _n( '%s year', '%s years', $years ), $years ); } /** * Filters the human-readable difference between two timestamps. * * @since 4.0.0 * * @param string $since The difference in human-readable text. * @param int $diff The difference in seconds. * @param int $from Unix timestamp from which the difference begins. * @param int $to Unix timestamp to end the time difference. */ return apply_filters( 'human_time_diff', $since, $diff, $from, $to );}Changelog
Introduced in 1.5.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
About this page
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