What are some best practices for managing data storage in PHP without a traditional database?

When managing data storage in PHP without a traditional database, one best practice is to use flat files for storing data. This can be achieved by serializing data structures and writing them to files. Another approach is to use SQLite as a lightweight database alternative. Additionally, utilizing caching mechanisms like Memcached or Redis can help improve performance and reduce the need for frequent file I/O operations.

// Example of using flat files for data storage
$data = ['name' => 'John Doe', 'age' => 30];
$file = 'data.txt';

// Serialize data and write it to a file
file_put_contents($file, serialize($data));

// Read data from file and unserialize it
$storedData = file_get_contents($file);
$retrievedData = unserialize($storedData);

print_r($retrievedData);