Bug #79176 [Nab]: Since 7 years this function randomly fails when using microtime input

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=79176&edit=1 ID: 79176 Updated by: cmb@php.net Reported by: h dot kocznar at compunect dot com Summary: Since 7 years this function randomly fails when using microtime input Status: Not a bug Type: Bug Package: Date/time related Operating System: All PHP Version: 7.4.2 Assigned To: cmb Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: To clarify: passing the return value of microtime(true) directly to DateTime::createFromFormat() using a 'U.u' is generally not supposed to work. Not only if microtime(true) returns a float without decimals, but also for many locales, e.g. php > var_dump(setlocale(LC_ALL, "de-DE")); string(5) "de-DE" php > var_dump(DateTime::createFromFormat('U.u', 1580204901.4929)); bool(false) Use number_format() or sprintf() with the F specifier for maximum portability. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-01-28 03:12:53] a at b dot c dot de > we have millions of php scripts that randomly fail. [citation needed] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-01-27 23:51:55] h dot kocznar at compunect dot com I understand how it happens, I agree that it's a not too great situation as the input expected is having a "." and microtime() returns it without sometimes. In theory you are right, the function does what it is supposed to do. But in the real world we have millions of php scripts that randomly fail. Tt's probably often critical logging functions (as in my case). Solution: Just make microtime() always return a dot. If the value is an exact integer you can just add 0.00001 to it. It won't make any difference anywhere (the function isn't that precise anyway). It's a workaround but it's one for the better of PHP, no one will ever notice it except that millions of errors suddenly go away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-01-27 23:09:46] requinix@php.net You can't rely on the *float* being returned by microtime() to be compatible with the *string* input expected by createFromFormat. This is one of those times that loose typing is a disadvantage: in a strictly-typed language, this wouldn't compile. Protip: sprintf() is good at converting numbers to strings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-01-27 23:01:16] h dot kocznar at compunect dot com Of course this is a bug in PHP.. I am irritated that such a obvious bug can be ignored, is there no quality control path that makes sure such mistakes are avoided ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-01-27 22:34:07] cmb@php.net Sorry, but your problem does not imply a bug in PHP itself. For a list of more appropriate places to ask for help using PHP, please visit http://www.php.net/support.php as this bug system is not the appropriate forum for asking support questions. Due to the volume of reports we can not explain in detail here why your report is not a bug. The support channels will be able to provide an explanation for you. Thank you for your interest in PHP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The remainder of the comments for this report are too long. To view the rest of the comments, please view the bug report online at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=79176 -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=79176&edit=1