What best practices should be followed when handling a large number of file renaming tasks in PHP?

When handling a large number of file renaming tasks in PHP, it is best to use a loop to iterate through each file and rename them individually. This approach helps to avoid memory issues that may arise when trying to process all files at once. Additionally, it is important to handle errors and exceptions properly to ensure the renaming process is robust and reliable.

$directory = '/path/to/directory/';

$files = scandir($directory);

foreach ($files as $file) {
    if (!in_array($file, array(".", ".."))) {
        $newName = 'new_' . $file;
        
        if (rename($directory . $file, $directory . $newName)) {
            echo "File $file has been renamed to $newName. <br>";
        } else {
            echo "Error renaming file $file. <br>";
        }
    }
}