How can the Nested Sets model be effectively utilized in PHP to represent complex family relationships, such as siblings, cousins, and external family members, in a hierarchical structure?

To effectively utilize the Nested Sets model in PHP to represent complex family relationships, such as siblings, cousins, and external family members, you can use a combination of nested loops and recursive functions to traverse the hierarchical structure and retrieve the necessary data.

// Example PHP code snippet to represent complex family relationships using Nested Sets model

class FamilyTree {
    public function getFamilyMembers($parentId, $level = 0) {
        // Retrieve family members at a specific level under a given parent ID
        // Implement your logic to fetch data from the database using Nested Sets model
        
        // Example: Fetch data from database and return family members
        $familyMembers = $this->fetchFamilyMembers($parentId);
        
        // Display family members at the current level
        foreach ($familyMembers as $member) {
            echo str_repeat('-', $level) . $member['name'] . "\n";
            
            // Recursively retrieve family members at the next level
            $this->getFamilyMembers($member['id'], $level + 1);
        }
    }
    
    private function fetchFamilyMembers($parentId) {
        // Simulated function to fetch family members from the database based on Nested Sets model
        // Replace this with actual database query
        
        // Example data for demonstration
        $familyMembers = [
            ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Parent'],
            ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Sibling 1'],
            ['id' => 3, 'name' => 'Sibling 2'],
            ['id' => 4, 'name' => 'Cousin 1'],
            ['id' => 5, 'name' => 'Cousin 2'],
        ];
        
        return $familyMembers;
    }
}

// Create an instance of FamilyTree class
$familyTree = new FamilyTree();

// Get and display family members starting from the root parent
$familyTree->getFamilyMembers(1);