How can PHP access Standard Input and leverage its power as a general-purpose scripting language?

Harvesting Input from the Inconceivable Void Known as Standard Input in PHP?

In the realm of PHP, a language often associated with web development where standard input remains a foreign concept, the question arises: can PHP transcend its web-centric roots and embrace the versatile nature of a general-purpose scripting language? Specifically, can it quench its thirst for input from the elusive standard input?

Fear not, for even in the absence of an intuitive stdin, PHP offers a path to salvation. By conjuring a file handle to the ethereal php://stdin, a passage is forged through which data can be siphoned. One such method, fgetc(), beckons you to retrieve individual characters like grains of sand.

The following incantation demonstrates how to harness this arcane power:

<code class="php"><?php
$f = fopen( 'php://stdin', 'r' );

while( $line = fgets( $f ) ) {
  echo $line;
}

fclose( $f );
?></code>

With each iteration of the loop, a line of input is absorbed and echoed back, as if whispering secrets to an unyielding void. Thus, PHP proves its adaptability, embracing the nuances of general-purpose scripting and opening up a world of possibilities where standard input is no longer a mere mirage.

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