WordPress Code Reference
The WordPress code reference page is a website containing the codex of all functions/hooks/classes/methods contained with a WordPress installation. It is located at https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/ and contains an easy to navigate search and filter system.
the_date() Function
the_date is a function that will display or retreive the date the current post was written (once per date). It will only output the date if the current post's date is different from the previous.
the_date()
Parameters
Parameters for this function include $format, which is a string and represents the PHP format. $before (string) provides the output before the date. $after (string) is for the output after the date and $display (bool) indicates whether to echo the date or return it.
Summary
The WordPress Code Reference is an excellent tool to review what abilities are avaialable within the WordPress environment, and to reference for troubleshooting code issues.