How can one optimize PHP scripts for efficient image processing on servers?

To optimize PHP scripts for efficient image processing on servers, one can utilize libraries like GD or Imagick for handling image manipulation tasks. These libraries provide functions for resizing, cropping, and compressing images, which can help improve performance and reduce server load. Additionally, caching processed images can also help in speeding up the image processing tasks.

// Example code using GD library for resizing and compressing images
$sourceImage = 'path/to/source/image.jpg';
$destinationImage = 'path/to/destination/image.jpg';

list($width, $height) = getimagesize($sourceImage);
$newWidth = 500; // Set desired width for the resized image
$newHeight = ($height / $width) * $newWidth;

$source = imagecreatefromjpeg($sourceImage);
$destination = imagecreatetruecolor($newWidth, $newHeight);

imagecopyresampled($destination, $source, 0, 0, 0, 0, $newWidth, $newHeight, $width, $height);

imagejpeg($destination, $destinationImage, 80); // 80 is the image quality (0-100)
imagedestroy($source);
imagedestroy($destination);