What are the potential pitfalls or limitations of using XML in PHP applications, compared to traditional database systems like MySQL?

One potential pitfall of using XML in PHP applications is that it can be slower and less efficient than traditional database systems like MySQL when handling large datasets. To mitigate this issue, consider converting XML data into a more efficient format for storage and retrieval, such as using a database system like MySQL for managing the data.

// Example code snippet demonstrating how to convert XML data into MySQL format

$xmlData = '<data><item>Example 1</item><item>Example 2</item></data>';

// Parse XML data
$xml = simplexml_load_string($xmlData);
$json = json_encode($xml);
$array = json_decode($json, true);

// Connect to MySQL database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

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

// Insert data into MySQL table
foreach ($array['item'] as $item) {
    $sql = "INSERT INTO table_name (column_name) VALUES ('$item')";
    $conn->query($sql);
}

// Close MySQL connection
$conn->close();