What are the advantages of using a database over text files for storing and updating website content in PHP?

Using a database over text files for storing and updating website content in PHP offers several advantages. Databases provide better data organization, efficiency in searching and retrieving data, support for complex queries, and easier data manipulation and updates. Additionally, databases offer better security features to protect sensitive information.

// Example PHP code snippet using a MySQL database to store and update website content

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

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

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

// Query to retrieve website content
$sql = "SELECT * FROM content_table";
$result = $conn->query($sql);

// Display website content
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        echo $row["content_title"] . ": " . $row["content_body"] . "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "0 results";
}

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