What is the recommended approach for automating a web-based process like form submission and link clicking using PHP?

To automate a web-based process like form submission and link clicking using PHP, you can utilize a headless browser automation tool like WebDriver. This allows you to programmatically control a browser to navigate through web pages, fill out forms, and click on links.

<?php

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use Facebook\WebDriver\Remote\RemoteWebDriver;
use Facebook\WebDriver\WebDriverBy;

$host = 'http://localhost:4444/wd/hub'; // Selenium server
$driver = RemoteWebDriver::create($host, DesiredCapabilities::chrome());

$driver->get('https://example.com');

// Find and fill out a form field
$driver->findElement(WebDriverBy::id('username'))->sendKeys('myusername');

// Find and click on a link
$driver->findElement(WebDriverBy::linkText('Click Here'))->click();

$driver->quit();

?>