Date Formatting by Programming Language

const date = new Date();

// Method 1: toISOString (recommended)
const formatted = date.toISOString().split('T')[0];
console.log(formatted); // Output: 2025-12-31

// Method 2: Manual formatting
const yyyy = date.getFullYear();
const mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0');
const dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0');
console.log(`${yyyy}-${mm}-${dd}`); // Output: 2025-12-31

🐍 Python

from datetime import datetime

date = datetime.now()
formatted = date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
print(formatted)  # Output: 2025-12-31

🐘 PHP

<?php
echo date('Y-m-d'); // Output: 2025-12-31

🐬 MySQL

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%Y-%m-%d') AS formatted_date;
-- Output: 2025-12-31

Common Format Codes

Different languages use different format codes. Here's a comparison:

Meaning	Python/PHP	JavaScript	SQL
Year (4 digit)	%Y	getFullYear()	%Y / YYYY
Year (2 digit)	%y	manual	%y / YY
Month (01-12)	%m	getMonth()+1	%m / MM
Month name	%B	toLocaleDateString()	%M / Month
Day (01-31)	%d	getDate()	%d / DD

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Tips for Date Formatting

Best Practice: When storing dates in databases or APIs, always use ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD). It's unambiguous, sorts correctly, and is universally understood.

Timezone Tip: Be aware of timezone differences. JavaScript's toISOString() returns UTC time, while toLocaleDateString() uses the local timezone.

Date Formatting by Programming Language

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Quick Reference: YYYY-MM-DD

Common Format Codes

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YYYY/MM/DD

DD/MM/YYYY

MM/DD/YYYY

Tips for Date Formatting