What are some best practices for optimizing PHP code that generates dynamic images?

When generating dynamic images in PHP, it's important to optimize the code for performance and efficiency. One way to do this is by caching the generated images to reduce the load on the server. Additionally, using image manipulation libraries like GD or Imagick can help streamline the image generation process.

// Example of caching generated images using PHP and GD library

// Check if the image already exists in the cache
$cacheFile = 'cache/image.jpg';
if (file_exists($cacheFile)) {
    // Output the cached image
    header('Content-Type: image/jpeg');
    readfile($cacheFile);
    exit;
}

// Generate the dynamic image
$image = imagecreate(200, 200);
$background = imagecolorallocate($image, 255, 255, 255);
$textColor = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 0, 0);
imagestring($image, 5, 50, 50, 'Dynamic Image', $textColor);

// Save the generated image to the cache
imagejpeg($image, $cacheFile);

// Output the generated image
header('Content-Type: image/jpeg');
imagejpeg($image);

// Clean up
imagedestroy($image);