date format in PHP date function [duplicate] - php

Question

This question already has answers here:
Calculating the difference between two times using php, and then adding it to a total of time type
(2 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
Hi I have values stored in MSSQL database as time(7)
job_start
job_end
I am trying to work out the difference between these two times using php, i have the folowing code
$start = $model->job_start;
$end = $model->job_end;
$diff = date( "h:i:s", strtotime($end) - strtotime($start) ) ;
echo $diff ;
However the output is
03:06:00
Rather than
00:06:00
By the way the difference is 6 minutes (360 seconds), can anyone help get this in the right format so i can save it ?
This question has been marked as a duplicate, however it is a different question as this addresses a specific timezone question when using the date function. And has been answered as such.
EDIT
The code i have marked answered the question i asked however I am trying to add an extra calculation as follows
$start = $model->job_start;
$end = $model->job_end;
$total = $model->customer->total_time;
//adding time difference to total time used for that customer
$dt = strtotime($total) + strtotime($end) - strtotime($start);
$hours = floor($dt / 3600);
$minutes = floor($dt / 60) - $hours * 60;
$seconds = $dt - $hours * 3600 - $minutes * 60;
// Padded values
$hours = str_pad($hours, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$minutes = str_pad($minutes, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$seconds = str_pad($seconds, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$output = "{$hours}:{$minutes}:{$seconds}" ;
//display
echo '<br> Start time : '. $start;
echo '<br> End time : '. $end;
echo '<br> total time + time difference : '. $output;
echo '<br> Total time for Customer : '. CHtml::encode($model->customer->total_time);
I am trying to add the difference between the total times to a total time variable
However when output is echoed i get this display
Start time : 11:45:00.0000000
End time : 12:45:00.0000000
total time + time difference : 382015:00:00
Total time for Customer : 09:00:00.0000000
Note that the total time + time difference has extra digits before it , its probably a simple mistake on my part but I can't see it , any help would be appreciated

Answer 1

Why not do this in the database
SELECT TIMESTAMPDIFF(SECOND, job_start, job_end);
Its faster and it is clearer for others to see what you are trying to do.

Answer 2

First of all, date gives date since Unix epoch (1970-01-01 00:00:00) so the odd three hour difference you see there is your timezone. You need to parse the hours, minutes and seconds separately.
<?php
$end = '2013-07-30 23:27:00';
$start = '2013-07-30 21:23:56';
$dt = strtotime($end) - strtotime($start);
$hours = floor($dt / 3600);
$minutes = floor($dt / 60) - $hours * 60;
$seconds = $dt - $hours * 3600 - $minutes * 60;
// Padded values
$hours = str_pad($hours, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$minutes = str_pad($minutes, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$seconds = str_pad($seconds, 2, STR_PAD_LEFT, '0');
$output = "{$hours}:{$minutes}:{$seconds}";