How can the use of XPath in PHP be optimized to avoid retrieving unnecessary data from XML documents?

To optimize the use of XPath in PHP and avoid retrieving unnecessary data from XML documents, you can be specific in your XPath queries by targeting only the nodes you need. Avoid using generic XPath expressions that may retrieve more data than necessary. Additionally, consider using XPath functions to filter and refine your queries further.

$xml = new DOMDocument();
$xml->load('data.xml');
$xpath = new DOMXPath($xml);

// Example of specific XPath query to retrieve only necessary data
$nodes = $xpath->query('/rootNode/childNode[@attribute="value"]');

foreach ($nodes as $node) {
    // Process retrieved data
}