In what scenarios would using a recursive function be beneficial for processing text files in PHP, and how can it be implemented effectively in this context?

Using a recursive function for processing text files in PHP can be beneficial when dealing with nested directories or files within directories. This allows for a flexible and efficient way to traverse through the file structure and perform operations on each file. By implementing a recursive function, you can easily handle complex file structures without the need for multiple nested loops.

function processTextFiles($directory){
    $files = scandir($directory);
    
    foreach($files as $file){
        if($file == '.' || $file == '..'){
            continue;
        }
        
        if(is_dir($directory.'/'.$file)){
            processTextFiles($directory.'/'.$file);
        } else {
            // Process text file here
            echo $directory.'/'.$file . "\n";
        }
    }
}

// Usage
$directory = 'path/to/your/directory';
processTextFiles($directory);