What are the best practices for handling user-generated content in PHP applications to prevent issues like space inflation in data files?

User-generated content in PHP applications can lead to issues like space inflation in data files if not handled properly. To prevent this, it is important to sanitize and validate user input before storing it in the database or file system. Additionally, implementing file size limits, regularly cleaning up unused data, and using efficient data storage techniques can help mitigate the risk of space inflation.

// Example code snippet to handle user-generated content and prevent space inflation

// Sanitize and validate user input
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];
$cleanInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Check file size before storing
$maxFileSize = 1048576; // 1 MB
if(strlen($cleanInput) <= $maxFileSize){
    // Store data in database or file system
    file_put_contents('data.txt', $cleanInput, FILE_APPEND);
    echo "Data stored successfully.";
} else {
    echo "File size limit exceeded.";
}