How can PHP developers efficiently handle different sections and keys within an INI file?

To efficiently handle different sections and keys within an INI file in PHP, developers can use the `parse_ini_file()` function to parse the contents of the INI file into an associative array. This function automatically handles sections and keys, making it easy to access and manipulate the data within the file.

// Load the contents of the INI file into an associative array
$ini_data = parse_ini_file('config.ini', true);

// Access specific sections and keys within the array
$section1_key1 = $ini_data['section1']['key1'];
$section2_key2 = $ini_data['section2']['key2'];

// Manipulate the data as needed
$ini_data['section1']['key1'] = 'new_value';

// Save the updated data back to the INI file
$ini_string = '';
foreach ($ini_data as $section => $keys) {
    $ini_string .= "[$section]\n";
    foreach ($keys as $key => $value) {
        $ini_string .= "$key = $value\n";
    }
    $ini_string .= "\n";
}
file_put_contents('config.ini', $ini_string);