What are the advantages of using a blockwise reading approach over a bytewise reading approach when dealing with streaming data in PHP?

When dealing with streaming data in PHP, using a blockwise reading approach can be advantageous over a bytewise reading approach because it allows for more efficient processing of large amounts of data. By reading data in blocks, you can reduce the number of read operations and minimize memory usage, leading to better performance. Additionally, blockwise reading can help prevent issues such as memory exhaustion when working with very large files.

// Blockwise reading approach for streaming data in PHP
$handle = fopen('example.txt', 'r');
$blockSize = 4096; // Define block size
while (!feof($handle)) {
    $block = fread($handle, $blockSize); // Read data in blocks
    // Process the block of data here
}
fclose($handle);