What are the potential pitfalls of using a flat file database for a search database in PHP?

Using a flat file database for a search database in PHP can be inefficient and slow, especially when dealing with a large amount of data. Retrieving and updating records can be cumbersome and resource-intensive. It is recommended to use a more robust database system like MySQL for better performance and scalability.

// Example of connecting to a MySQL database instead of using a flat file

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "myDB";

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

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