What is the function parse_ini_file() in PHP and how can it be used to work with .ini files?

The function parse_ini_file() in PHP is used to parse a configuration file in .ini format and return an associative array containing the configuration settings. This function can be helpful when working with configuration files that follow the .ini format, allowing you to easily access and manipulate the settings within the file.

// Example of using parse_ini_file() to read and work with a .ini file

// Load the configuration settings from config.ini file
$config = parse_ini_file('config.ini');

// Access and use the configuration settings
echo $config['database_host']; // Output: localhost
echo $config['database_user']; // Output: root
echo $config['database_password']; // Output: password123