What are the advantages of using the printf function in PHP for output formatting compared to using multiple echo statements?

Using the printf function in PHP for output formatting is advantageous compared to using multiple echo statements because it allows for more control over the output format. With printf, you can easily format strings, numbers, and other variables using placeholders and specifiers. This makes the code cleaner, more readable, and easier to maintain. Additionally, printf can handle complex formatting requirements more efficiently than multiple echo statements.

$name = "John";
$age = 30;

// Using printf for output formatting
printf("Hello, my name is %s and I am %d years old.", $name, $age);