title: PHP - Reasons to use Iterators?
body: <p>I was perusing the manual today and noticed the <a href="http://us2.php.net/manual/en/spl.iterators.php" rel="noreferrer">various iterators</a>. To me, it seems like they are all somewhat pointless; I don't see a reason to use them unless you prefer their syntax, or don't know how to write a recursive function. Are there any reasons to use built-in iterators in PHP over just writing a loop or making a recursive method?</p>
  
  <p>I'm only looking for factual responses, not subjective preferences (ie:  I don't care if you think it's more "readable" or "more object-oriented", I want to know if they're faster, offer functionality that can't be achieved when rolling your own, etc.).</p>