the_date( string $format = '', string $before = '', string $after = '', bool $echo = true )
Display or Retrieve the date the current post was written (once per date)
Description Description
Will only output the date if the current post’s date is different from the previous one output.
i.e. Only one date listing will show per day worth of posts shown in the loop, even if the function is called several times for each post.
HTML output can be filtered with ‘the_date’. Date string output can be filtered with ‘get_the_date’.
Parameters Parameters
- $format
-
(string) (Optional) PHP date format. Defaults to the 'date_format' option.
Default value: ''
- $before
-
(string) (Optional) Output before the date.
Default value: ''
- $after
-
(string) (Optional) Output after the date.
Default value: ''
- $echo
-
(bool) (Optional) Whether to echo the date or return it.
Default value: true
Return Return
(string|void) String if retrieving.
Source Source
File: wp-includes/general-template.php
function the_date( $format = '', $before = '', $after = '', $echo = true ) {
global $currentday, $previousday;
$the_date = '';
if ( is_new_day() ) {
$the_date = $before . get_the_date( $format ) . $after;
$previousday = $currentday;
}
/**
* Filters the date a post was published for display.
*
* @since 0.71
*
* @param string $the_date The formatted date string.
* @param string $format PHP date format.
* @param string $before HTML output before the date.
* @param string $after HTML output after the date.
*/
$the_date = apply_filters( 'the_date', $the_date, $format, $before, $after );
if ( $echo ) {
echo $the_date;
} else {
return $the_date;
}
}
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Changelog Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 0.71 | Introduced. |
User Contributed Notes User Contributed Notes
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Date as Year, Month, Date in Heading
Displays the date using the ‘2007-07-23’ format (ex: 2004-11-30), inside an <h2> tag.
Default Usage
Displays the date using defaults.
Date in Heading Using $my_date Variable
Returns the date in the default format inside an <h2> tag and assigns it to the
$my_datevariable. The variable’s value is then displayed with the PHP echo command.