Are there alternative methods to achieve parallel processing in PHP without using multithreading?

Using PHP's built-in functions like `pcntl_fork()` or `pcntl_exec()` can achieve parallel processing without using multithreading. These functions allow forking new processes that can run concurrently, enabling parallel execution of tasks in PHP. 

<?php

$processes = 5; // Number of processes to run concurrently

for ($i = 0; $i < $processes; $i++) {
    $pid = pcntl_fork();
    
    if ($pid == -1) {
        die('Could not fork process');
    } else if ($pid) {
        // Parent process
        echo "Parent process spawned child with PID $pid\n";
    } else {
        // Child process
        echo "Child process with PID " . getmypid() . " started\n";
        sleep(2); // Simulate some work
        exit(); // Exit child process
    }
}

// Wait for all child processes to finish
while (pcntl_waitpid(0, $status) != -1) {
    $status = pcntl_wexitstatus($status);
    echo "Child process $status finished\n";
}

Keywords

parallel processing PHP alternative methods multithreading libraries

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