What are some best practices for handling and managing data stored in text files using PHP, particularly in scenarios like maintaining a newsletter mailing list?

To handle and manage data stored in text files using PHP, particularly in scenarios like maintaining a newsletter mailing list, it is important to properly read, write, and update the text file to ensure data integrity. One best practice is to use PHP functions like file_get_contents(), file_put_contents(), and fopen() to interact with the text file. Additionally, consider using CSV format for easier data manipulation and organization. 

// Read data from a text file
$data = file_get_contents('mailing_list.txt');

// Update data in the text file
$newEmail = 'new@example.com';
$data .= $newEmail . "\n";
file_put_contents('mailing_list.txt', $data);

// Example of reading and processing a CSV file
$csvData = array_map('str_getcsv', file('mailing_list.csv'));
foreach ($csvData as $row) {
    $email = $row[0];
    // Process each email address
}

Keywords

file handling text files PHP functions mailing list data management

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