What are the potential pitfalls of using PHP for network programming tasks like socket servers?

One potential pitfall of using PHP for network programming tasks like socket servers is that PHP's performance may not be as efficient as other languages like C or Java. This could lead to slower response times and decreased scalability for high-traffic applications. One way to mitigate this issue is to use PHP extensions like ReactPHP or Swoole, which provide asynchronous event-driven programming capabilities for building high-performance network applications.

// Example using ReactPHP for creating a socket server
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$loop = React\EventLoop\Factory::create();
$socket = new React\Socket\Server('127.0.0.1:8000', $loop);

$socket->on('connection', function (React\Socket\ConnectionInterface $connection) {
    $connection->write("Hello there!\n");
    $connection->pipe($connection);
});

$loop->run();