Get the EXACT difference between two dates - php

Question

I am implementing a real Estate application and I need to EXACTLY check the date difference between two dates.
I will prefer for this a javascript jquery approach, but any other solution will be welcome.
My goal is to not allow users to enter dates where the difference is EXACTLY bigger than 2 (or 5) years.
I have tried, along with many others, this solution:
How to get the months between 2 dates
Unfortunately, this is not what I really need.
When I do:
The rent will start at 01-01-2017
And will end at 31-12-2018
I will get 24 months (exactly rented for 2 years), which is correct for my purpose.
But if I try:
The rent will start at 01-01-2017
And will end at 01-01-2019
I will still get 24 months (but it is rented for 2 years and 1 day), which is not correct for my purpose.
Due to the law regulations in my country (Netherlands) there is for the contracts a big difference between the two above mentioned situations.
I will appreciate any help from your side.

Answer 1

As mentioned in the comment, add 2 years and subtract 1 day. Best to do it with DateTime class:
$dt = DateTime::createFromFormat('d-m-Y', '01-01-2017');
$dt->add(new DateInterval('P2Y'));
$dt->sub(new DateInterval('P1D'));
var_dump($dt->format('d-m-Y'));
This will produce the desired result:
string(10) "31-12-2018"

Answer 2

Here's an excellent function by SunilKmCharde, from the User Contributed Notes in the PHP manual:
<?php
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//PARA: Date Should In YYYY-MM-DD Format
//RESULT FORMAT:
// '%y Year %m Month %d Day %h Hours %i Minute %s Seconds' => 1 Year 3 Month 14 Day 11 Hours 49 Minute 36 Seconds
// '%y Year %m Month %d Day' => 1 Year 3 Month 14 Days
// '%m Month %d Day' => 3 Month 14 Day
// '%d Day %h Hours' => 14 Day 11 Hours
// '%d Day' => 14 Days
// '%h Hours %i Minute %s Seconds' => 11 Hours 49 Minute 36 Seconds
// '%i Minute %s Seconds' => 49 Minute 36 Seconds
// '%h Hours => 11 Hours
// '%a Days => 468 Days
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
function dateDifference($date_1 , $date_2 , $differenceFormat = '%a' )
{
$datetime1 = date_create($date_1);
$datetime2 = date_create($date_2);
$interval = date_diff($datetime1, $datetime2);
return $interval->format($differenceFormat);
}
?>

Answer 3

This should be accurate and be aware of leap years etc...
<?php
$date = date_create('02-01-2017');
date_add($date, date_interval_create_from_date_string('2 years'));
$twoyears = date_format($date, 'd-m-Y');
echo $twoyears; // 02-01-2019
$rentperiod = $twoyears->sub(DateInterval::createFromDateString('1 day'));
echo $rentperiod; //01-31-2019

Answer 4

Javascript:
function diff( d1, d2){
x = new Date(d2-d1);
return x.getUTCDate() + " " + x.getUTCMonth() + " " + (x.getUTCFullYear() - 1970);
}
example:
a = new Date('01-01-2017');
b = new Date('01-01-2019');
diff(a,b);
"Days:1, Months: 0, Years: 2"