How can PHP scripts be optimized to handle a large number of file paths from a text file when running as a cron job?

When handling a large number of file paths from a text file in a PHP script running as a cron job, it is important to optimize the code to efficiently process the data without causing performance issues. One way to achieve this is by using file handling functions like fopen, fgets, and fclose to read the file line by line and process each file path individually. Additionally, implementing error handling and proper memory management techniques can help prevent crashes or slowdowns when dealing with a large volume of data.

<?php
// Open the file for reading
$file = fopen('file_paths.txt', 'r');

if ($file) {
    // Loop through each line in the file
    while (($line = fgets($file)) !== false) {
        // Process the file path
        echo "Processing file path: " . $line;
        
        // Add your processing logic here
        
    }
    
    // Close the file
    fclose($file);
} else {
    echo "Error opening the file.";
}
?>