In the context of loading multiple sets of data for display, what are the recommended methods or technologies, such as SSE, to provide real-time updates or progress indicators to the user?

When loading multiple sets of data for display, it's important to provide real-time updates or progress indicators to the user to keep them informed about the status of the process. One recommended method to achieve this is by using Server-Sent Events (SSE) in combination with AJAX requests to continuously update the user interface with new data as it becomes available.

<?php
// Set up the SSE headers
header('Content-Type: text/event-stream');
header('Cache-Control: no-cache');

// Function to send a message/event to the client
function sendSseMessage($data) {
    echo "data: " . json_encode($data) . "\n\n";
    ob_flush();
    flush();
}

// Simulate loading multiple sets of data
$setsOfData = [
    ['name' => 'Set 1', 'progress' => 25],
    ['name' => 'Set 2', 'progress' => 50],
    ['name' => 'Set 3', 'progress' => 75],
    ['name' => 'Set 4', 'progress' => 100]
];

// Loop through the sets of data and send progress updates to the client
foreach ($setsOfData as $data) {
    sendSseMessage($data);
    sleep(1); // Simulate a delay in loading data
}

// Signal that the process is complete
sendSseMessage(['name' => 'All sets loaded', 'progress' => 100]);
?>