Are there any best practices for handling file downloads in PHP without relying on JavaScript?

When handling file downloads in PHP without relying on JavaScript, it's important to set the correct headers to indicate that the response is a file download. This includes setting the Content-Type header to the appropriate MIME type of the file being downloaded, as well as setting the Content-Disposition header to indicate that the response should be treated as an attachment.

<?php
// Set the file path and MIME type
$file_path = 'path/to/file.pdf';
$mime_type = 'application/pdf';

// Set the headers for file download
header('Content-Type: ' . $mime_type);
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' . basename($file_path) . '"');

// Read the file and output its contents
readfile($file_path);