How can the use of separate tables improve the handling of historical data in PHP applications?

When handling historical data in PHP applications, using separate tables can improve performance and organization. By storing historical data in separate tables, you can prevent the main tables from becoming too large and slow to query. This separation also makes it easier to manage and analyze historical data without affecting the current data.

// Example of using separate tables for historical data in PHP

// Main table for current data
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(50),
    email VARCHAR(50)
);

// Historical table for storing previous versions of user data
CREATE TABLE users_history (
    id INT,
    name VARCHAR(50),
    email VARCHAR(50),
    updated_at TIMESTAMP
);