How can PHP functions like htmlspecialchars() and fread() be optimized for handling image data within a file manipulation process?

When handling image data within a file manipulation process, it is important to optimize PHP functions like htmlspecialchars() and fread() to ensure efficient and secure processing of the image data. One way to optimize these functions is to properly handle binary data when reading and outputting image files. This can be achieved by using the 'rb' flag when opening files with fopen() and using functions like base64_encode() and base64_decode() to encode and decode image data.

// Open image file for reading in binary mode
$imageFile = fopen('image.jpg', 'rb');

// Read image data from file
$imageData = fread($imageFile, filesize('image.jpg'));

// Encode image data for secure processing
$encodedImageData = base64_encode($imageData);

// Decode image data for output or manipulation
$decodedImageData = base64_decode($encodedImageData);

// Close the image file
fclose($imageFile);