- var_dump: documentation ( source)
<?php
$dt1 = new DateTime('2015-12-12 12:00:00');
$dt2 = new DateTime('2015-12-12 12:05:00');
$diff = $dt1->diff($dt2);
var_dump($diff);
$dt1 = new DateTime('2015-12-12 12:00:00');
$dt2 = new DateTime('2015-12-11 12:05:00');
$diff = $dt1->diff($dt2);
var_dump($diff);