What are the potential risks and benefits of storing images as BLOB data in a MySQL database when using PHP scripts for web development?

Storing images as BLOB data in a MySQL database can lead to slower performance and increased database size. It is generally recommended to store images in a separate directory and only store the file path in the database. This approach can improve database performance and make it easier to manage images. 

// Example of storing image file in a directory and saving file path in MySQL database

// Upload image file
$target_dir = "uploads/";
$target_file = $target_dir . basename($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["name"]);
move_uploaded_file($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["tmp_name"], $target_file);

// Save file path in database
$image_path = $target_file;
$sql = "INSERT INTO images (image_path) VALUES ('$image_path')";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

if ($result) {
    echo "Image uploaded and saved to database successfully.";
} else {
    echo "Error uploading image.";
}

Keywords

BLOB data MySQL database PHP scripts web development risks benefits

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