- var_dump: documentation ( source)
<?php
$a = new \DateTime('now');
echo $a->format('M d Y H:i a');
$date = 'Oct 12 2013 02:00';
$datetime = \DateTime::createFromFormat('M d Y H:i a', $date);
var_dump($datetime);
//echo $datetime->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');