In what scenarios would it be more efficient to store file modification dates in a database rather than retrieving them dynamically in PHP?

Storing file modification dates in a database can be more efficient when you have a large number of files that need to be accessed frequently. By storing the modification dates in a database, you can easily query and retrieve the information without having to access the file system each time. This can help improve performance and reduce the load on the server.

// Store file modification dates in a database table
$files = glob('/path/to/files/*');

foreach ($files as $file) {
    $modification_date = filemtime($file);
    
    // Insert or update the file modification date in the database
    $query = "INSERT INTO file_modification_dates (file_path, modification_date) VALUES ('$file', '$modification_date') ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE modification_date = '$modification_date'";
    
    // Execute the query
    // $pdo->query($query);
}