How can the code efficiency be improved by using arrays instead of individual variables in the PHP program described in the forum thread?

Using arrays instead of individual variables can improve code efficiency by reducing the number of variable declarations and simplifying data manipulation. By storing related data in arrays, you can easily iterate over elements, perform bulk operations, and pass data structures as function arguments. This approach can lead to cleaner, more maintainable code.

// Using arrays instead of individual variables for storing student grades

$grades = [
    'Alice' => 85,
    'Bob' => 92,
    'Charlie' => 78,
    'David' => 88
];

// Accessing grades
echo $grades['Alice']; // Output: 85

// Iterating over grades
foreach ($grades as $student => $grade) {
    echo "$student: $grade\n";
}