This book will provide you with the advanced knowledge and practical skills to master PHP's powerful stream and filter system. You'll learn to:

• Understand PHP's Core I/O: Grasp fundamental stream concepts, their benefits for unified I/O and memory efficiency, and how they fit into PHP's I/O model.
• Leverage Built-in Stream Wrappers: Confidently work with standard wrappers like file: //, php: //, and http(s): // to perform essential stream operations (opening, reading, writing, seeking, closing).
• Master Advanced Stream Control: Control stream positioning, implement advisory file locking, truncate content, manage buffering (blocking/non-blocking), set timeouts, and explore asynchronous I/O with stream_select().
• Utilize Stream Contexts: Create and manipulate stream contexts to set specific options for wrappers (e.g., HTTP methods, headers, SSL/TLS settings) and monitor stream progress via notifications.
• Build Custom Stream Wrappers: Develop your own wrappers to access diverse data sources (APIs, databases, virtual filesystems), implementing core file and directory operations, and integrating advanced features like locking and truncation.
• Implement On-the-Fly Data Transformation with Filters: Understand stream filters for real-time data modification, attach and manage filter chains, and utilize PHP's built-in filters for tasks like string manipulation, conversion, and compression.
• Create Custom Stream Filters: Extend php_user_filter to define custom logic, master the filter() method, register your filters, pass parameters, and manage filter state for specific data transformations.
• Apply Advanced Techniques: Design complex I/O pipelines, combining streams, contexts, wrappers, and filters in real-world scenarios such as processing large CSVs, secure API communication, and virtual file systems.
• Optimize Performance, Enhance Security, and Adopt Best Practices: Learn performance considerations, identify security risks, implement robust error handling and debugging strategies, and adopt best practices for efficient and secure stream usage.
• Explore Streams in Modern PHP: Understand how streams are used in frameworks and their role in asynchronous PHP with libraries like ReactPHP and Amp, including future considerations.