understanding date(U) php code example

Example 1: date in php

/**
 * Its always best to use a datetime object
 */
$dateTime = new \DateTime();
/**
 * You can get the string by using format
 */
$dateTime->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');

Example 2: php get day of week

date('w'); //gets day of week as number(0=sunday,1=monday...,6=sat)

//note:returns 0 through 6 but as string so to check if monday do this:
if(date('w') == 1){
	echo "its monday baby";
}