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<?php

use Carbon\Carbon;

// if you accepting from request, you can use something like Carbon::parse(request('date_started'));
// for tinker purpose, I use Carbon::now();
$now = Carbon::now(); 

// If you accepting from request, you can use something like Carbon::parse(request('date_ended'));
$next_month = $now->copy()->addMonth();

// Get Different in Days
echo $now->diffInDays($next_month) . PHP_EOL;

// Get Different in Days, with negative value if it less than $now instance
echo $now->diffInDays($next_month, false) . PHP_EOL;

// Get Difference in Minutes
echo $now->diffInMinutes($next_month) . PHP_EOL;

// Get Difference in Minutes, with negative value if it less than $now instance
echo $now->diffInMinutes($next_month, false) . PHP_EOL;

/**
 * The 2nd parameter again is optional and indicates if you want the return value to be the absolute value 
 * or a relative value that might have a - (negative) sign if the passed in date is less than the current instance.
 */