In what scenarios would it be more efficient to return a single value from a PHP function instead of multiple values?

Returning a single value from a PHP function is more efficient when you only need to retrieve a specific piece of information or when the function's purpose is to perform a calculation or operation that results in a single value. This can help simplify the code and make it easier to understand and maintain. However, if you need to return multiple values or complex data structures, it's better to use an array or an object to encapsulate all the information.

// Example of returning a single value from a PHP function
function calculateSum($num1, $num2) {
    return $num1 + $num2;
}

// Call the function and store the result in a variable
$sum = calculateSum(5, 3);

// Output the result
echo "The sum is: " . $sum;