What are the advantages and disadvantages of using serialized text files versus databases for storing error reports in PHP classes?

When storing error reports in PHP classes, using serialized text files can offer simplicity and portability, as the data can be easily stored and retrieved. However, serialized text files may not be as efficient for querying and updating data compared to using databases. Databases provide more robust features like indexing, querying, and relationships, but require additional setup and maintenance.

// Storing error reports in serialized text files
$errorData = array(
    'timestamp' => time(),
    'message' => 'An error occurred in the application.'
);

// Serialize the data and write to a text file
$serializedData = serialize($errorData);
file_put_contents('error_report.txt', $serializedData);

// Retrieving error reports from serialized text files
$serializedData = file_get_contents('error_report.txt');
$errorData = unserialize($serializedData);

echo $errorData['message'];