What are the benefits of dividing images into subfolders when dealing with a large number of images in PHP?

When dealing with a large number of images in PHP, dividing them into subfolders can help organize the images and improve performance when accessing or manipulating them. By grouping related images into subfolders based on categories, dates, or any other criteria, it becomes easier to manage and locate specific images. Additionally, having images distributed across multiple subfolders can prevent performance issues that may arise when dealing with a large number of files in a single directory.

// Example of dividing images into subfolders based on categories
$imagesDirectory = 'images/';
$categories = ['nature', 'animals', 'architecture'];

foreach ($categories as $category) {
    $categoryDirectory = $imagesDirectory . $category . '/';
    
    // Check if the category directory exists, if not create it
    if (!file_exists($categoryDirectory)) {
        mkdir($categoryDirectory, 0777, true);
    }
    
    // Move images belonging to the category to its respective subfolder
    // This can be done using PHP's file functions like rename()
}