Does PHP have an inverse of the date() function (other than strtotime())?

Question

Is there a function that uses the date() format to interpret a string?

echo date('s-i-H d:m:Y', 1304591364); // 34-29-17 05:05:2011

// Does this function exist?
echo inverse_date('s-i-H d:m:Y', '34-29-17 05:05:2011'); // 1304591364

I know strtotime(), but it’s failing me in most cases as I am not parsing English date formats.

I’m looking for a function that can dictate the format.

Answer 1

PHP 5.4+ will print 1359674625

echo date_create_from_format('j/n/Y G:i:s','1/2/2013 1:23:45')->getTimestamp();