What are the advantages and disadvantages of storing counter data in separate files versus a MySQL database table?

Storing counter data in separate files can provide faster access times and simpler implementation, but it may not be as scalable or efficient as storing the data in a MySQL database table. Using a MySQL database table allows for better organization, querying capabilities, and easier management of the data, but it may introduce additional complexity and overhead.

// Storing counter data in separate files
$counterFile = 'counter.txt';

// Read current count from file
$count = file_get_contents($counterFile);

// Increment count
$count++;

// Write updated count back to file
file_put_contents($counterFile, $count);