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Date and Time Configuration in DreamFactory

Overview​

Database vendors handle date and time values in different formats, making it challenging to maintain consistent behavior across multiple database types. Below are examples of default formats from popular databases:

Date and Time Formats by Database Type
{
  "lunch_time": "09:45:00",
  "birth_date": "2003-01-16",
  "last_contact": "2014-03-14 13:34:00",
  "last_modified_date": "2014-12-11 17:20:34"
}

While these formats can be configured at the database level or modified during transactions using vendor-specific conversions, such approaches are complex and inflexible. DreamFactory solves this by providing a "blending" API that allows you to standardize date and time formats across all connected database services, ensuring consistent data formatting for all clients.

Configuration​

Date and time format settings are managed in the config/df.php file in your DreamFactory installation's root directory:

//-------------------------------------------------------------------------
//  Date and Time Format Options
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // DB configs
    'db'                           => [
        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------
        //  Date and Time Format Options
        //  The default date and time formats used for in and out requests for
        //  all database services, including stored procedures and system service resources.
        //  Default values of null means no formatting is performed on date and time field values.
        //  Examples: 'm/d/y h:i:s A' or 'c' or DATE_COOKIE
        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------
        'time_format'            => null,
        'date_format'            => null,
        'datetime_format'     => null,
        'timestamp_format'  => null,

Format Reference​

For detailed information about available format options, refer to:

Example Formats​

Here are example formats for each DreamFactory data type:

'date_format'      => 'l jS \of F Y',    // "Thursday 16th of January 2003"
'time_format'      => 'h:i A',           // "09:45 AM"
'datetime_format'  => 'm/d/y h:i:s A',   // "03/14/14 01:34:00 PM"
'timestamp_format' => 'c',               // "2014-12-10T14:42:18-05:00"

The following shows how the same dataset would be formatted using these settings:

{
    "lunch_time": "09:45 AM",
    "birth_date": "Thursday 16th of January 2003",
    "last_contact": "03/14/14 01:34:00 PM",
    "last_modified_date": "2014-12-10T14:42:18-05:00"
}
Applying Changes

After modifying these settings, clear the platform cache by running:

php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:clear

Client Usage​

The date and time format settings are available through the system environment API, allowing clients to maintain consistent formatting:

GET https://{your-dreamfactory-url}/api/v2/system/environment

Response example:

{
    "db": {
        "date_format": "l jS \\of F Y",
        "time_format": "h:i A",
        "datetime_format": "m/d/y h:i:s A",
        "timestamp_format": "l, d-M-Y H:i:s T",
        "max_records_returned": 1000
    }
}
important

When working with the API:

  • These formats are used for both database record retrieval and stored procedure call responses
  • Date and time values must use the same format for both retrieving and sending data
  • You cannot retrieve a date as 'yyyy/mm/dd' and then update it using 'mm/dd/yyyy' format