What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a database to store the current image number and path in PHP?

When storing the current image number and path in a database in PHP, the advantage is that it allows for easy retrieval and updating of this information. This can be useful for dynamically displaying images on a website or tracking the current image being displayed. However, the disadvantage is that it adds complexity to the code and may require additional database queries, potentially slowing down the application.

// Connect to the database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "myDB";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Store current image number and path in the database
$currentImageNumber = 1;
$currentImagePath = "images/image1.jpg";

$sql = "INSERT INTO images (image_number, image_path) VALUES ('$currentImageNumber', '$currentImagePath')";
$conn->query($sql);

// Retrieve current image number and path from the database
$sql = "SELECT * FROM images WHERE id = 1";
$result = $conn->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        $currentImageNumber = $row["image_number"];
        $currentImagePath = $row["image_path"];
    }
}

// Update current image number and path in the database
$newImageNumber = 2;
$newImagePath = "images/image2.jpg";

$sql = "UPDATE images SET image_number = '$newImageNumber', image_path = '$newImagePath' WHERE id = 1";
$conn->query($sql);

// Close the database connection
$conn->close();