How can PHP developers effectively utilize the ob_start and ob_get_contents functions for output caching?
To effectively utilize the ob_start and ob_get_contents functions for output caching in PHP, developers can use ob_start() to start output buffering and ob_get_contents() to retrieve the buffered output as a string. This allows developers to cache the output of a script and manipulate it before sending it to the browser, improving performance by reducing redundant processing.
<?php
ob_start(); // Start output buffering
// Your PHP code to generate dynamic content goes here
$output = ob_get_contents(); // Get the buffered output as a string
ob_end_clean(); // Clean the output buffer
// Use $output as needed, for example, you can cache it or manipulate it before outputting
echo $output; // Output the cached content
?>