In what situations should PHP developers consider using alternative methods to file_get_contents for reading text files in their scripts?

PHP developers should consider using alternative methods to file_get_contents for reading text files in their scripts when dealing with large files or when needing more control over the file reading process. In these situations, using functions like fopen, fread, and fclose can provide better performance and flexibility. 

$file = fopen('example.txt', 'r');
if ($file) {
    while (($line = fgets($file)) !== false) {
        // Process each line of the file
    }
    fclose($file);
} else {
    echo "Error opening file";
}

Keywords

file_get_contents fopen fread fgets SplFileObject error handling

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