What are the potential pitfalls of using long-polling for client-server communication in PHP?

Potential pitfalls of using long-polling for client-server communication in PHP include increased server load due to continuous open connections, potential latency issues as each request must wait for a response before sending the next one, and scalability challenges as the number of clients increases. To address these issues, consider implementing a more efficient communication method such as WebSockets or Server-Sent Events (SSE) which allow for real-time bidirectional communication without the need for continuous polling.

// Example code using Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time communication
header('Content-Type: text/event-stream');
header('Cache-Control: no-cache');

// Simulate real-time updates
while (true) {
    $data = fetchData(); // Function to fetch data from server
    echo "data: " . json_encode($data) . "\n\n";
    flush();
    sleep(1); // Adjust sleep time as needed
}

function fetchData() {
    // Function to fetch data from server
}