How can server performance impact the loading time of PHP scripts, especially when handling multiple requests?

Server performance can impact the loading time of PHP scripts, especially when handling multiple requests, as slow server response times can lead to delays in processing PHP scripts. To improve performance, you can optimize your server configuration, use caching mechanisms, and implement code optimizations. Additionally, using a load balancer to distribute incoming requests across multiple servers can help handle high traffic loads more efficiently.

// Example PHP code snippet using caching to improve performance
$cache_key = 'example_data';
$cache_data = apc_fetch($cache_key);

if (!$cache_data) {
    // Fetch data from database or perform expensive operation
    $data = fetchDataFromDatabase();

    // Cache the data for future requests
    apc_store($cache_key, $data);
} else {
    $data = $cache_data;
}

// Use the data in your script
echo $data;