Not only can output buffering in PHP become your best friend (especially for larger sites), but it's also one of the simplest things you can do to give your scripts a little extra boost just when they need it most. And, of course, this new article from Codewalkers.com can help you use it.

Output buffering is a powerful tool in PHP which allows you to buffer a script's output. You can then edit this buffer before returning it to the client. This tutorial will procede first by enumerating the functions used in output buffering with a brief explanation of each. Then we will examine how these functions are utililized. We will conclude with three brief examples of scenerios where one might use output buffering.

The examples they give include some caching with PHP, closing out your pages with a footer, and caching the text returned from functions. Some simple buffering techniques can really help performance of a site, especially on a slower connection - since the packets are sent as a lump, instead of a trickle.