What are the potential pitfalls of using setInterval for auto-refreshing content in PHP?

Using setInterval for auto-refreshing content in PHP can lead to unnecessary server requests and increased server load. A more efficient approach would be to use AJAX to retrieve new content from the server only when needed, reducing the number of requests and improving performance. 

// Example PHP code using AJAX for auto-refreshing content

// HTML file with JavaScript to handle AJAX requests
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Auto-Refreshing Content</title>
    <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script>
    <script>
        $(document).ready(function(){
            setInterval(function(){
                $.ajax({
                    url: 'refresh_content.php',
                    type: 'GET',
                    success: function(data){
                        $('#content').html(data);
                    }
                });
            }, 5000); // Refresh every 5 seconds
        });
    </script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="content">
        <!-- Content will be auto-refreshed here -->
    </div>
</body>
</html>

// PHP file (refresh_content.php) to generate new content
<?php
// Generate new content here
echo "<p>This is the refreshed content.</p>";
?>

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